Business owners have had a lot to contend with in recent years. New legislation such as the National Living Wage introduction, auto-enrolment and the Apprenticeship Levy have caused plenty of worry for businesses. This paired with uncertainty around Brexit, means that there’s been a lot of unrest in the business community.
But is it all doom and gloom? Recent research has revealed that many entrepreneurs are remaining positive about the year ahead.
Brexit worries
Brexit has been on the horizon for a while, with many still afraid of what a divorce from the EU will look like for businesses.
However, according to a survey conducted by mortgage provider Kensington Mortgages, 63% of self-employed people think that Brexit is unlikely to have a direct effect on their business.
They surveyed over 1,000 self-employed people across the UK to study their opinions about the year ahead.
Optimism for 2018
The survey revealed that business owners are showing general optimism for the rest of 2018. They found that 47% said they expect 2018 will bring more work than 2017.
A further 42% said that they were confident they will make more money than they did last year. While it looks promising, 21% of those surveyed said the opposite.
Younger self-employed workers appeared to be a bit more hopeful when thinking about the future. 65% of 25-34 year olds were optimistic about the chance to make money this year, as were 78% of 16-24 year olds.
Careful entrepreneurs
Although there’s growing optimism, the study also revealed that people are being more careful with their money, perhaps wary of changes in the future.
This meant they were careful with maintaining their savings. 42% of people said that they would be able to sustain themselves for a period of six months or more. However, worryingly over half did not appear to be able to do the same.
Access to finance
While optimism is in the air, 35% of people said that Brexit would make it harder to get access to loans and mortgages.
However, a similar report from Smith & Williamson found that 38% believed it was easier to access finance from the banks over the past year, with 11% saying it was harder to.
33% of those surveyed said they plan to invest more in their business and will be borrowing more to fund growth plans. 17% went as far to say they would borrow ‘much more’ and 52% said they would increase their staff numbers.
Hopefully, this optimism is well placed and will see plenty of business successes over the coming years. With finances being the source of much worry, it’s important that businesses are keeping on top of their tax responsibilities and are keeping a record of expenses to save money.
Are you optimistic about the year ahead? Or are you worried about Brexit or getting finance? Please share your thoughts in the comments.