According to research by Yell, close to one million small businesses have £1,000 or less in savings, to help them during a downturn in revenue. This equates to 17% of all SMEs within the UK.
The study also revealed the current lack of confidence many owners have on the likelihood of still being in business in 2024, with 13% of owners uncertain whether they will still be trading in 12 months time.
The hair & beauty industry has been highlighted in this research with senior leaders of SME hair & beauty businesses (under 250 staff) also being surveyed and the study showing that one in 10 (9.8%) have £1,000 or less in the bank, and almost one in five (18%) lack confidence that their business will be running in the next three to five years.
Over a third (37%) of senior decision makers in the hair & beauty industry also say they are able to save significantly less compared to what they were able to save pre-pandemic.
The research also found that one in 10 (10%) SMEs say they can’t save anything each month, with a further 9% also only able to save up to £200 per month. For sole traders, this is even more of a concern, as one in three currently don’t save anything each month.
“There is currently a lot of discussion around personal savings, and this feedback from UK SMEs is a good reminder of the importance of regularly reviewing where to invest and where to make savings,” comments Mark Clisby, Co-CEO at Yell.
“Quite often, a common reaction can be to cease marketing activity, but time and again we see this as a counterproductive option. Marketing is required to bring in new customers and keep revenue coming in and your competitors may be increasing their media investment, so will be more prominent.”