The top 10 things SMEs think they should be doing to stay afloat

Are you a financial fanatic constantly checking your business’s cashflow, or are you more focused on the future of your company?

This light-hearted quiz shows what kind of business owner you are.

With each outcome, it also offers ways to rethink to help small businesses thrive in this tricky economic climate.

It comes as research found six in 10 small business owners say their only goal for year is just to stay afloat.

A poll of 500 British small business owners and decision makers also found 43 per cent believe adaptability - the trying and testing of new processes and ways to do business - is critical to delivering success.

The survey found having a presence on online marketplaces (26 per cent), selling via social media (24 per cent), reducing systems and streamlining operations (21 per cent) and finding new markets abroad (18 per cent), are other ways they believe they can stay afloat in this current climate.  

Not surprisingly, 58 per cent are worried about their business revenue for the rest of 2023.

The findings are from PayPal’s Business of Change 2023 report, which aims to encourage SMEs to rethink the potential of their business.

It found that SME owners believe over a third (36 per cent) of revenue on average has come from thinking outside the box.

Vincent Belloc, managing director, PayPal UK, said: “We recognise the many challenges currently facing UK small businesses.

“But we hope that our latest findings inspire SMEs to rethink their potential and the ways they do business for the better, moving away from just surviving, to a thriving mindset in 2023.

“Our report of 500 SMEs highlights that many are being held back by managing too many business systems taking up valuable time.

"Small business owners are looking for all-in-one solutions to help them improve efficiencies and allow them to do what they do best - sell and grow”.

Alternatives to approaching a business

Despite finding success from trying and testing new processes, almost half (46 per cent) admit to not rethinking how they could approach their business differently.