Partner Article

Why are SMEs feeling so good about 2017?

You’ll struggle to find someone who says that 2016 wasn’t a big year for change. With Brexit, Trump and the arrival of Prime Minister May, to list just a few of the most significant events that we’ve seen unfold, the winds of change have certainly swept through the business world. As the dust starts to settle, these changes are taking shape and businesses are seeing effects such as a pound that is regularly swinging in value, uncertainty around the future of Britain’s relationship with the EU and what is perceived by many to be a widespread skills shortage.

In the wake of these new developments, business owners across the UK will be reviewing the success, setbacks and surprises that their organisations have faced over the last 12 months, as well as planning for the year ahead.

SME owners, in particular, will know that they don’t have the option of being complacent in the face of difficult times. When running a smaller business, or when in the delicate early stages of establishing a company, plans must change, difficult climates must be adapted to and the hand SMEs are dealt must be made to work in their favour, whatever the current landscape might be.

Naturally then, after asking SME decision makers how they felt about the result of the EU referendum, 29% told us that they are feeling more confident about their business, while 43% said their confidence remained unchanged. Many are also optimistic around growth and recruitment, with 61% of SME decision makers expecting the income of their business to increase in the next two years and predicting growth of 20%.

These findings were revealed in our recently published Brighter Business Report, which has investigated the attitudes and performance of SMEs in the current business climate, and I’m sure for many, poses a host of questions about how they can possibly be so positive in the face of such a challenging landscape. With customers proving more demanding than ever before, competition more ruthless and the world stage more unpredictable, what on earth have small businesses got to be so confident about? Well, as Mr. Jobs said himself:

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.“ – Steve Jobs

It seems to me that the need to tackle and resolve difficult issues head-on is the very reason why a significant number of SMEs are feeling confident about the year ahead. Without the luxury that larger businesses often have of being able to dig in their heels when change comes calling, events such as Brexit immediately put small business owners in a “sink or swim” situation. The ability to be more nimble, striking while the iron is hot and taking the necessary action to protect a small business can turn times of uncertainty into times of strength, and ultimately leave SMEs feeling more confident about the future.

“Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.“ – Max McKeown

If taking difficulty in your stride gives a business owner more confidence in their company, the ability to adapt is the means to achieve that confidence. One particular edge that SMEs undeniably have over larger competitors is the freedom to go with the flow and change plans without being subject to shareholder discussions, lengthy approval processes and having to feed instructions down the chain to hundreds, if not thousands, of employees.

While I wouldn’t recommend performing a complete U-turn on a business plan that has been years in the making, the knowledge that they can much more easily draw up new tactics than larger competitors when times get tough is certainly something that gives SMEs cause for confidence.

“If you really want something, you’ll find a way.“ – Jim Rohn

It seems, therefore, that as we edge in to 2017, SMEs do have a lot to be confident about, but I would still advise small business owners to be wary, as the path to success will never be straightforward. Indeed, our own research found that 16% of small business owners see tax and 15% see the skills shortage as a potential barrier to growth in the years to come. However, even in this particular arena, confidence still remains strong, with 22% answering that there are no barriers to growth whatsoever.

To put it simply, we can all learn from SMEs that by being open-minded and adaptable, there is always a reason to be confident. Small business demonstrated in 2016 that by taking action where required in order to navigate challenging circumstances, looking for positives that can be leveraged and simply going with the flow, there is a lot that we can be confident about in the year to come.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andy Nash, Operations Director, Opus Energy .