Survey reveals SME business owners are “overwhelmed” and feel they should know more

Significant numbers of small and medium-sized business leaders feel “overwhelmed” by their roles and “like they should know more than they do”, according to new research.

The survey* by the Small Business Charter of 1,200 senior business people in SMEs across the UK found anxiety about some aspects of the burden of running and growing their companies.

A fifth (20%) say they feel overwhelmed by everything that’s required of them, with this rising to over a third (35%) among leaders aged 18 to 24. In London, 32% of bosses say they feel overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, a quarter (24%) nationally say they feel like they should know more than they do, with those aged 35 to 44 most likely to admit this (27%). The proportion feeling they should know more is 36% among leaders in London.

Nationally, almost one in five (18%) – 15% in London – also say they feel burdened by the responsibility to protect their employees’ jobs.

According to the Department for Business & Trade, there are 5.6 million small- and medium-sized businesses in Britain**, suggesting there are hundreds of thousands of leaders across the UK feeling overwhelmed and lacking in knowledge and knowhow.

Nevertheless, despite their anxieties, most UK business leaders still feel confident in the broad day-to-day running of their business or department (96%). When pressed on what would make them feel even more confident, a third (33%) say access to leadership training and 40% want a larger network of peers to turn to.

The Small Business Charter delivers Help to Grow: Management, a 90% government-funded course designed to support business leaders to increase resilience, innovation and growth within their organisations. Spread across 12 weeks, the course includes 10 hours of one-to-one business mentoring and a peer network. It is designed to be completed alongside existing work commitments.

Flora Hamilton, executive director, Small Business Charter, said: “Our survey of business leaders shows that even though they generally feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis, significant numbers have underlying anxieties. Running a company or department can be a heavy burden and at times many feel overwhelmed and insecure about having the business knowledge they need to do their jobs well and grow their companies.

“With its practical SME focus, the Help to Grow: Management Course helps small business leaders and senior managers develop the business knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Delivered by our network of expert business schools, it provides a fundamental understanding of core business topics from strategy to marketing and employee engagement but also the support of a local peer network that many small business leaders see as crucial to helping them tackle challenges and feel more confident.”

Madeleine Osei-Baffoe, co-founder and managing director of Nextec Engineering, who has completed the Help to Grow: Management Course at London South Bank University, School of Business, said: “I co-founded Nextec Engineering when I was 28. While I am an experienced engineer, I felt like I was missing the business knowledge and the confidence to lead the company and the team. The knowledge and skills I gained from the Help to Grow: Management Course helped me overcome my impostor syndrome and I have now stepped up into the role of Managing Director, leading one of the few female led engineering consultancies working on high profile projects in both the rail and the energy industries.”