Recent economic challenges such as recruitment problems, increased bureaucracy, taxes and supply chain disruption are making 40% of small business owners fear for the future of their business.  

This is according to YouGov research from Moblox with over 1000 small business owners who revealed their challenges and concerns for the future.  

Combined with inflation, strict new Brexit customs rules and supply chain problems, the pressure is piling high on small businesses already seriously disadvantaged by the primary impact of the pandemic, with the secondary impact of Brexit hitting them hard at the same time. 45% of firms said their costs had increased in the past three months because of rising utility bills, driven by the price of energy, according to the latest quarterly report from the FSB.

Over three quarters of under-pressure small businesses are forgoing long term strategies and prioritising just getting past the pandemic, with 77% saying growth and recovery from the pandemic is a concern for them ahead of other priorities. For example, despite most wanting to do the right thing, only 40% of small businesses questioned are currently willing to commit to reaching net zero by 2050.  

With a perfect storm of pressures converging on small businesses at the same time, the impact is becoming clear with 65% of small businesses owners saying the pandemic has had a negative impact on them and their teams’ mental health, while 44% say Brexit has done the same. 

Mental health has also been impacted across different businesses and sectors. Business owners with more employees are feeling greater pressure with 48% of those businesses with six to nine employees seeing a negative mental health impact. Retail and healthcare are understandably being hit hardest with half (50%) of small business owners in retail and 56% in medical and healthcare saying their mental health has been negatively affected by recent factors.  

One part of the problem appears to be that small businesses were unable to invest in time saving tools in lockdown to the same extent as bigger businesses could. Two thirds (66%) of small businesses say they did not invest in new technology during COVID-19, which suggests that there is opportunity for easy improvements in the way they operate. 

Of those small businesses that did invest in technology like video calling apps, accountancy software, HR platforms or better communications, 43% said the new technology saved them time and 40% said it improved productivity. 

Piers Linney, CEO, Moblox said: “It’s been a trying time for small business owners who, on top of dealing with a global pandemic, are also facing an increase in energy prices, inflation going up, difficulty in sourcing products and recruiting, and delays to international trade that form a large part of their revenue. With so many unknowns, it’s understandable that their mental health has been affected since owners aren’t sure if their businesses will survive at all. 

“Small businesses need our support – they make up the vast majority of businesses in the UK and its unforgivable that the challenges they are facing are leading to mental health issues. It’s clear that more needs to be done by industry and government. 

“However small business productivity has long been a problem and with the new tools and technology that we have all grasped through the pandemic, there is an easy way to improve this. We urge small businesses to take a moment and consider what technology is available to them and how it could save them time and money.  

“Ultimately, businesses need to be looking at all ways to reduce costs as much as possible while driving customer growth. If they achieve this, they can not only survive but power the economic recovery the UK needs.”