Late nights in the office or working overtime at the weekend isn’t unfamiliar territory for many business owners. In the early years of trading many SME entrepreneurs find their work-life balance a little skewed as they throw their all into building a successful business. This Stress Awareness Month we reflect on the true cost of stress in a business.
Unsurprisingly, many entrepreneurs are happy to invest their time, energy and passion into a business they love because being their own boss reaps its own rewards. But what happens when the day-to-day stresses of running a business become unmanageable?
Stress holds 80% of businesses back from grasping new opportunities
Last year, it was reported that over half of UK businesses found 2023 to be the most stressful year to-date. With soaring overheads, inflation reaching record highs and consumer spending shrinking, many businesses began to worry about their bottom line, and some made the difficult decision to fold. But with 2023 (and some of its challenges) now behind us, it’s important that businesses feel empowered to achieve their goals without unnecessary stresses.
According to a recent poll of our Time Finance community, nearly 60% of respondents said that business owners are not comfortable talking about their finances. As an industry, it’s important that we can open up those conversations and we are equipping our clients with the right tools to navigate their pressure points and alleviate any potential stress caused by cashflow, missed investment opportunities or high overheads.
Communities create change
While at one point or another all businesses will have questions swirling about their financial management, Leasing Life reported a study that found only 23% of business owners would actually seek advice from their lender if they needed advice on their cashflow.
Opening up the conversation is an important first step to proactively manage business finances and plan for the future. Communication has always been a very big part of our support for businesses at Time Finance. We aim to create an environment where SMEs feel they can confidently bring their matters to the table, and we can work together to find the right solution for their unique requirements, whether that’s relieving cashflow, an injection of funds to create a new product line, or multi-product solutions that take businesses on the next step of their journey.
If you’d like to learn more about the services available at Time Finance to support businesses, take the first step today by contacting us.