Blueprint for success
An important new report from Kingston University on SMEs 1 has shown that Britain’s small businesses are optimistic about the year ahead, with over two-thirds of businesses surveyed expecting to grow in 2011.
Read our review and download the full report.
Report summary
The report, ‘The year ahead: a view from Britain's small businesses’ was produced by the Small Business Research Centre was produced by the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston in conjunction with Barclays Business.
The survey of 1,000 SMEs from all regions and sectors analysed their prospects for 2011, including:
- Optimism and ambitions of SMEs in the coming year
- Investment in growth
- Contributions to employment
- How far small businesses’ plans match Government expectations
An additional report, 'The eXport factor: British SMEs' approach to doing business overseas' analyses trends in the exporting behaviour of British SMEs.
Key findings
SMEs’ overall outlook is positive despite the challenging economic climate, which is in sharp contrast to media ‘doom and gloom’.
- 56 per cent of owner-managers expect profit to increase in 2011, up from 35 per cent last year
- Optimism is evident in SMEs’ employment plans for 2011 with an expected increase in headcount
- SMEs in manufacturing, transport and communication, and financial services sectors look set to lead the way
- Growth is firmly on the agenda, as SMEs look to invest their cash in areas that will maximise their resources, such as marketing to increase sales and innovation.
Optimism
Only 14 per cent of those firms serving the public sector envisaged a reduction in their sales.
Growth
The biggest trends in the survey were plans to increase spending on sales and marketing and also on product and service development.
Employment
Businesses expect to increase the number of full-time employees from 33 to 34 people, and part-time employees from 15 to 16.
Born Global
The largest proportion of British SME exporters come from the retail and manufacturing industries (66%).