Small business owners feel the need to be ‘Jack of all trades’

A typical small business owner takes on at least five different roles, from accountant to social media manager. A survey of 1,000 SME owners found that 73 per cent have more responsibilities than they initially anticipated.

As 84 per cent of respondents feel they need to be versatile and handle multiple tasks in the workplace. Over a third (34 per cent) have had to learn social media promotion, while 21 per cent have had to quickly learn about legal matters. A total of 39 per cent have had to learn marketing, and 28 per cent have taken on cleaning duties.

The research was commissioned by AXA UK as part of its ‘Being self-employed shouldn’t be a risk’ campaign, which aims to support SME owners in their daily work. AXA UK CEO Tara Foley said: “Running a small business is incredibly rewarding but it also presents a multitude of challenges that can be difficult to manage, especially if you are a sole trader and have to juggle everything yourself.”

“Our survey shows that small business owners took on more roles than they expected when they started out.”

During a typical working week, SME business owners estimate they spend the equivalent of three days a week doing overtime outside their “normal” working hours to get everything done. While 29 per cent admitted they had made a significant mistake at work due to lack of expertise within a specific area of their business.

And 46 per cent come up against challenges on a day-to-day basis which they have to resolve themselves, with 34 per cent saying it’s impossible to be skilled in all areas of business. It also emerged 26 per cent feel there’s not enough general help and advice for business owners, with 17 per cent concerned they might not have the right business insurance.

But while one in 10 of those polled, via OnePoll, believed running their business was easier than they initially expected 33 per cent felt the reality was harder. Not having time to get everything done (61 per cent), unpredictable cash flow (45 per cent) and work-life balance (44 per cent) were the top reasons people felt like a ‘Jack of all trades’ when running their business.

Tara Foley, of AXA which also has a 24/7 helpline, added: “We understand the challenges small business owners face and by providing a range of business tools we are helping them to thrive.

THE ‘OTHER’ JOBS SME OWNERS ARE HAVING TO TAKE ON IN BUSINESS

1. Finances
2. Admin
3. Accounting
4. Sales
5. Customer service
6. Marketing
7. IT
8. Social media promotion
9. Advertising
10. Operations
11. Cleaning
12. Insurance
13. Content creator
14. Maintenance
15. HR
16. Production
17. Legal
18. PR
19. Events
20. Cooking