We don't think we know enough say stressed SMEs

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 say they feel overwhelmed by everything that’s required of them, with this rising to over a third among leaders aged 18 to 24. In the West Midlands, 19 per cent of bosses say they feel overwhelmed. 

Meanwhile, a quarter nationally say they feel like they should know more than they do, with those aged 35 to 44 most likely to admit this.

Nationally, almost one in five 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, so there could be 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. When pressed on what would make them feel even more confident, a third say access to leadership training, rising to 40 per cent in the West Midlands, and 40 per cent want a larger network of peers to turn to.  

The Small Business Charter delivers Help to Grow: Management, a 90 per cent 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."