A new survey has found that 60% of SMEs have benefited from the economic recovery with a further 20% expecting to do so this year while 40% of SMEs have yet to see an upturn in business.
In a survey of 250 plus business owners/managers throughout Ireland, 40% said their business is still waiting to feel the positive impact of Ireland’s upturn in economic fortunes.
This was one of the findings of the nationwide survey carried out by Big Red Cloud, a leading supplier of online accounting software to the Irish SME market.
In the survey, respondents were asked their views pertaining to two key issues: Business performance following the recession and Ireland’s attitude towards the self-employed.
Speaking of the findings, Marc O’Dwyer, CEO of Big Red Cloud said they asked the same questions of business owners in 2016 and it was really interesting to see how things have moved on for some… but not for others.
"8% of SMEs have reported a change in their economic fortune for the better over the last two years. Worryingly, 40% revealed that they are still struggling – though encouragingly perhaps, 20% of these businesses believe they will be in a better position by the end of 2018.”
Experts at Big Red Cloud say the data points towards a strong recovery economy it’s important that the supports are there to allow new and existing SMEs a chance to flourish
RECORD BREAKING
2017 was record breaking in terms of company registrations with 6% more registrations than 2016 (22,354 v 21,018). In Cork City and County alone, the figures show that there were 2,258 companies registered in 2017.
“However, as any SME owner will tell you getting a business up and running is just the start of a very challenging adventure. Keeping a business afloat and growing a business is a difficult task so it’s important that the structures are in place to bolster these businesses that create so much employment in every county in the country,” Mr O’Dwyer said.
When asked their feelings on Ireland’s treatment of the self-employed the response was pretty clear with 97% reporting dissatisfaction to some extent – but to varying degrees.
"Given the importance of small businesses in Ireland to job creation and economic growth, the Government would do well to listen to those at the coal-face and to turn their attention to looking at how the can foster a more encouraging environment for SMEs.
