Business costs top SME concern
Money will be the big concern for SMEs in the year to come – especially making sales, maintaining steady cashflow, and making profits.
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Money will be the big concern for SMEs in the year to come – especially making sales, maintaining steady cashflow, and making profits.
This is according to new research commissioned by American Express.
Of the 300 business decision makers surveyed in mid-September, 18% said making sales would be the biggest challenge over the next 12 months. 14% had picked making sales as the biggest challenge for the previous 12 months.
Other major concerns were general business costs and cashflow, though the percentages for these had stayed steady at 14% for last year and the year ahead.
When it comes to profit expectations, 85% of business decision makers were mostly optimistic. 46% expected profits to stay the same, 39% expected them to increase. Just 14% expected profits to decrease.
Businesses expect petrol prices and red tape to be less of a challenge over the next year than they have been previously. 7% picked petrol prices as their major concern for the last year, while 3% picked it as a major challenge for the year ahead. Red tape challenges fell from 12% to 7%.
Charlotte Woodfield
Thu, 24 Nov 2011
Thu, 24 Nov 2011
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Business costs top SME concern
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