Legislation and trading conditions biggest worries for firms

Legislation and a difficult economic climate are the biggest challenges facing start-ups in eight major business sectors according to a survey carried out by Safestore. The survey set out to establish the biggest concerns for biggest owners, their most fundamental goals, and what they believe to be the main reasons for a business failing.

According to respondents, more than half of business owners prioritise growth as part of their business strategy with only 12 percent prioritising cost management. The ‘wrong business model’ was seen as the top reason for failure of new businesses.

In every sector, business owners are faced with a number of problems to solve every day of the week. We’ve looked at 8 major sectors to find what matters most.

• Legislation – Of all the metrics studied, legislation was the biggest concern on average. 30 percent of Agricultural companies place it as a key concern, with 1 in 5 owners of Transport, Real Estate and Business SME’s viewing it as a key issue.
• Finance – 16 percent of manufacturing businesses see cash flow as a large concern, more than any other sector. The same sector also rank highest for worries over ‘access to finance’ with 1 in 10 stating it as a prominent issue.
• The Economy – Only legislation is a more concerning factor for businesses than the current state of the economy, affecting 20 percent of Transport and Storage businesses.

Goals and mistakes

By taking a look at existing survey data, the survey claims to have been able to highlight both the primary objectives for a business owner, and the most common reasons for failure.

Objectives

• Aiming High – Growth is unsurprisingly one of the most important considerations for over half business owners outranking all other key goals
• Tech & Structure – Nearly a third of business owners list their primary objectives to be related to IT or to the development of their company’s structure
• Clear Objectives – Fewer than 1 in 10 business owners place efficiency and innovation at the forefront of their business strategy, prioritising more practical goals such as workforce and finance.

Failures 

• No Idea – The highest proportion of business owners (35 percent) see the lack of a business model as the reason for failure
• Money Talks – Over 1 in 5 of surveyed entrepreneurs claim that running out of cash was the reason for their ventures fall down
• Hot Competition – 11 percent of those surveyed believed that ‘more able competitors’ were to blame for their companies’ demise, which is notable when a lower proportion value innovation as part of their business model.