Skip to main content
Helping your business to Start, Grow and Develop.

Search

For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.

Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.

Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.

Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.

It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.

Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.

Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.

Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.

Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.

Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.

It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.

Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.

Small business confidence holds steady despite winter woes

19 October 2021

After a significant bounce-back in the spring, small business growth forecasts are still looking good and the number of small firms that fear they might not survive has hit its lowest level for two years.

The latest business data from Hitachi Capital Business Finance shows that UK small firms are in better shape than might have been expected given current pressures including transport disruption, labour shortages and fears of a winter fuel crisis.

The new figures show that business confidence has hardly changed over the last nine months, since it bounced back in the spring, and 35% of business owners are predicting growth for the next three months.

Fears about business failure were widespread when the pandemic first hit in April 2020, with 29% of small businesses fearing they would close within three months. That figure has now fallen to just 5%.

Evidence of new-found stability for many small businesses also comes with a rise in the number of enterprises that predict "no change" in their business outlook on previous quarters. This has doubled since the early months of the pandemic, and has risen every quarter this year to a new high of 52%. For small businesses that are unable to predict growth, or are impacted by current market disruption, there appears to be an underlying confidence that they can weather the storm.

Looking ahead to the Christmas sales period, the growth outlook for small businesses across sectors is much improved; in some sectors, current growth outlook has even surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

In the hospitality sector, businesses are gearing up for a busy Christmas period, with 35% predicting growth in the next three months - almost double the figure this time last year (18%). The outlook in manufacturing for the Christmas period is also relatively bullish. Growth predictions here have doubled compared to the all-time low this time last year (from 23% to 49%).

In sectors where small business growth forecasts were least affected by COVID - IT, telecoms, media and marketing - growth forecasts have continued to rise and are now higher than they were before the pandemic.

However, retail businesses along with travel and distribution are less optimistic, with fewer enterprises predicting growth compared to this time last year. These sectors have been seriously impacted by labour shortages and supply chain disruption.

Joanna Morris, head of insight at Hitachi Capital Business Finance, said: "Given the challenges we have all experienced getting fuel in recent weeks - and the warnings there may even be no turkeys for Christmas - our latest findings present an emphatic endorsement of the crucial role the small business community plays to the economy and society at large.

"Having experienced difficulty during lockdown, many have found ways to adapt and grow in the last year - and for those that can't grow, a record number of business leaders are able to hold firm and weather the storm … The overall picture is one of remarkable solidity when faced with a volatile market - what has appeared is an agility and a willingness to adapt to change."

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.