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Small Businesses claim market more buoyant in latest survey results from SJD Accountancy

A more buoyant economy was the overriding message from small businesses and contractors in the latest survey from leading accountancy firm to contractors, freelancers and small businesses, SJD Accountancy.

86% of all those surveyed in SJD’s biannual contractor attitude survey said that the general outlook on the contracting market was more positive. 79% also said that they found being a contractor rather than an employee more satisfying and only 23% missing any of the benefits of being PAYE.

More Limited Companies driving economy

Many are setting up and seeing growth in their limited companies with 76% having run their own business for over a year, 50% for over 2 years and 29% for over 5 years.

A lifestyle choice

The survey also found that working for yourself is becoming a lifestyle choice. With those in their 40s (34% of all surveyed) and 50s (up 16% to 20% of all surveyed in the last year) opting out permanent employment with 74% saying that they consciously chose to work for themselves as a career. The results reflect that people are making a conscious decision mid career to work for themselves as a lifestyle choice.

Choosing to be their own boss and wanting to run their own company was high in the list of why many people are starting their own business. However, it is no surprise that flexibility (60%) and freedom (52%) were also cited as reasons why people are choosing to work for themselves.

More positive work/life balance

Almost three quarters (73%) of those surveyed in our bi-annual survey said that running their own business had a positive effect on their work/life balance, up 16% from 2012.

Managing director of SJD Accountancy, Claire Johnson comments on the survey, “We are finding more and more people are registering to become limited companies and enter the SME market. Professionals are looking for different ways to working, wanting higher salaries and better roles and sometimes they need to create these for themselves. We obviously undertake this research so we can ensure we are understand the changes taking place with our clients’ work lives but the survey results also act as a great snapshot of the changes taking place in the workforce today.”

The SJD Accountancy contractor survey covered the views of around 1,000 Limited company clients of SJD over the last six months in 2013. Results have been gathered from January 2012 to December 2013 allowing a comparative view of the market over a full two years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by SJD Accountancy .