Business owners can’t just put their head in the sand when it comes to growing pains. They have to overcome them and the best way to do that is with external advice and support. Andy Berrow, Business Link

Small business complacency is harming future growth potential and increasing the chance of business failure across London according to information released last week by Business Link in London. With 29 out of 33 London boroughs experiencing a growth in the number of new businesses, only 67 per cent of them are making it to their third birthday, whilst 91 per cent are making it to their first.

Business Link in London hopes the findings will be a wake-up call to businesses that have passed their one-year anniversary, helping them recognise and effectively tackle the growing pains they often face. Companies can find support in Business Link in London’s ‘Business Booster’ initiative, which is designed to help businesses across the capital grow.

Tim Campbell, the successful winner of The Apprentice, who has since gone on to set up his own charity, The Bright Ideas Trust, comments, “If you’re running your own business, you will know that everything doesn’t always run smoothly. You will experience growing pains, but to face the challenges, you need to think about who can help you plan for the future. No one is an expert in everything. The ‘Business Booster’ initiative provides access to a range of resources to help business develop into the companies they passionately want to be.”
Other key findings announced today highlight:-

• Trouble spots - Key areas of concern for growing businesses were finance and cash-flow, staff issues and raising business levels through marketing

• Churn up - The rate of churn for businesses in London was higher than it was for the rest of the UK

• Advice seeker - Only 44 per cent of businesses with less than 49 staff had sourced formal business advice, with Asian and black businesses less likely to access external help, with only 29 per cent and 27 per cent doing so respectively

• Guiding hand – Only 55 per cent believed they needed outside help to develop and grow their business, but 47 per cent thought they needed help across a whole range of business areas, not just one of two

• Dining Out - Restaurants were three times more likely to go bust than other businesses, with financial firms most likely to still be going after three years

Andy Berrow, Senior Business Advisor at Business Link said: “We found that recruitment, marketing and finance were the key problem areas for developing small business. We want to make sure that out of the rising number of businesses starting up in London each year as many as possible are making it to their 6th birthday. In reality only 20 per cent will make it this far. Business owners can’t just put their head in the sand when it comes to growing pains. They have to overcome them and the best way to do that is with external advice and support.”

The ‘Business Booster’ campaign sees Business Link in London providing businesses with access to free support and advice to help them boost their business to the next level. Businesses will be able to use the organisation’s ‘Online Business Review’ tool which offers users a ten-minute reality check of their business online – to see how their business shapes up, along with access to local events, master-classes, fact-sheets, advice and consultancy.