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Which Personality Does Your Business' Owner Have?
As a business owner or manager, you know
that every single business is different, but
a new survey has found that almost all small
business owners and entrepreneurs fit into
one of four categories. Which are you
closest to?
One in five entrepreneurs in Britain is a
"high flyer", according to a new study by
Bank of Scotland Business Banking aimed
at identifying the attributes displayed by
Britain's successful small businesses.
Analysis of over 4,000 interviews, conducted
as part of Bank of Scotland Business
Banking’s regular small business survey,
reveals that there are four distinct
business 'personalities' looking after
Britain's small businesses: High Flyers,
Steady Growers, Survivors and Strugglers.
High Flyers
represent nearly one in five (17%)
entrepreneurs in Britain. With businesses
that have demonstrated strong and consistent
growth over the past three years, high
flyers tend to be very successful business
leaders with an optimistic outlook on the UK
economy. Not content with maintaining their
current market position, they are investing
more funds and taking on more staff than
other businesses. Only a small number of
these businesses are run by sole traders and
most are under five years old. With a
concentration in London, their highest
incidence is found in the professional
services sector. Other personality traits include:
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Likely to have a formal back-up plan in
case of natural disasters
-
Find it easy to keep on top of IT
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Impressed with the quality of candidates
seeking jobs
-
Want to pass their business on to family
members when they retire
Steady Growers are the joint largest group representing
over a third (35%) of Britain’s small
business leaders. Achieving moderate growth
for their business over the past three
years, these entrepreneurs are fairly
optimistic about the economy. Most 'steady
growers' expect to keep the same number of
employees whilst some expect to increase
their workforce. Other characteristics
include:
-
Most likely to
sell or pass on the company to
colleagues when ‘exiting’ the business
-
Most likely to be
motivated by either growing the business
or having a sense of achievement
-
A high proportion
in Yorkshire and Humberside
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A high proportion
in the service sector
Survivors are equally as common as Steady Growers, also
representing over a third (35%) of Britain’s
small business leaders. Survivors
experienced little or no growth in the last
three years, expect their performance to
remain the same in the next 12 months and do
not expect to invest more in the company
over this period. Other characteristics
include:
-
Most likely to be
motivated by enjoyment
-
A high proportion
in Wales, the North East and the South
West.
-
A high proportion
in the agriculture sector
Strugglers are, fortunately, the smallest group and
represent only 13% of small business
leaders. Strugglers have experienced low or
no growth and are very pessimistic about the
prospects for both their business and the
economy. A significant number of strugglers
are sole traders and more than one in five
of these businesses are over 20 years old.
They have found it much more difficult to
run their business over past five years.
Other characteristics include:
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Most likely to
struggle with IT
-
Most likely to
want to close the business when they
retire
-
Least likely to
have a formal disaster plan
-
Most likely to be
motivated by enjoyment
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A high proportion
operating in the agriculture sector
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A high proportion
in Yorkshire and Humberside
Kevin Gillett, Head of Business Banking at Bank of Scotland
Business Banking said: "Our analysis shows
that the spirit of entrepreneurship in
Britain is alive and well with a significant
number of small business owners
demonstrating a healthy ambition to develop
and grow their businesses. With a strong
grasp of IT and an optimistic outlook, these
high flyers are excellent role models for
other owner managers who are looking to
succeed. However, it's not all good news.
Making a small business succeed takes a lot
of hard work and it's clear that for some it
can be a real struggle. Fortunately, the
proportion of small business owners who are
fighting to keep afloat is relatively small
compared to the other three business
personalities."
If you struggle with IT, why not get some
free advice and information from our IT and
Technology portal.
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