For some time now it has been the avowed intention of the government to stimulate the economy through, particularly, the small business arena. Government luminaries including Vince Cable and Lord Young, no less, have lent their names to ambitious schemes aimed at business growth such as the British Business Bank and Growth Accelerator.
But how is this actually helping your average small business?
One of the major problems, perhaps as always, is finding out what is available. At one stage Business Link, which was perhaps the first port of call for small businesses seeking assistance, could point them in the right direction. With the demise of that organisation it has fallen to a number of, perhaps, less well known avenues for the average small business to try and follow. Of those, and perhaps the most useful and readily available, are
- (https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder/search) on the government website which looks at the finance and support available for your business; the available schemes amount to a stunning 630 covering Apprenticeships through to Youth business programmes, and
- http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk which is currently in Beta but allows you to select assistance depending on circumstances.
So with all of this available why don’t more small businesses benefit?
Studies have suggested that those businesses which do seek advice from experts or industry veterans are approximately twice as likely to survive for more than five years than their contemporaries which do not seek such assistance. And it has to be said that at least one of the government funded schemes – the Startup Loans Company – offers such mentoring together with the loans, and that is not always taken up by the beneficiaries.
It does seem therefore that some business people will turn down assistance freely offered. Maybe that is the inherent weakness of the average entrepreneur – they are so convinced that they know what they’re doing that they don’t think they need help; or maybe they are afraid of the possibility that they might come across somebody who understands the business even better than they do?
Whatever the reason, as advisors we should attempt to get as much assistance for our clients as possible.
