Is it a bird, is it a plane? No it’s an SME

The last few weeks’ headlines have been dominated by talk of deficits and cuts. So we thought we’d take a look at how the Private Sector will help overcome these measures and ride to the rescue of the economy.
With the Public Sector now being forced to make many of the cost cutting measures we in the private sector have been implementing for the last few years, the future of our economy rests in the hands of the Private Sector.  Whilst Cameron and his coalition may be courting the advances of the bosses of big industry, but it is not the big corporates that hold the key to economic success, and the government appears to recognize that.  David Cameron’s championing of the ‘big businesses of tomorrow’, is founded on the belief that with help from banks and government-backed enterprises, small business will thrive and boost economic growth in the UK.

Now, you may be thinking ‘how could my small business help the economic recovery?’  Government statistics show that in 2009, 83% of businesses in the UK employed less than 10 people. Only 1.5% of UK businesses employed over 100 employees. With SMEs representing the vast majority of UK businesses, it is clear that we are going to have a massive role to play in filling the gap left in our economy, when the budget cuts start to bite.

Dave Sumner Smith, Programme Director of The SME Hub states that SMEs account for 99.9% of British businesses, 59.8% of Private Sector employment and 49% of Private Sector turnover. In 2009, 82% of UK businesses had a turnover of £500,000 or under.

So how does this translate for SMEs based in Hampshire?

As a Hampshire based SME, we were interested in seeing how the numbers stacked up for the Hampshire region. Government statistics show that Hampshire businesses follow the national trend. The vast majority of businesses are SMEs, with 98% of businesses employing less than 10 members of staff.  The same is true for turnover. Indeed, in 2009 there were only 565 businesses in Hampshire that have a turnover in excess of £5 million.

All the evidence points to the fact that SMEs hold the key to the UK’s future economic success and without us, our country’s finances would hang by a thread.

So with growth so important, how does an SME begin to grow?  We believe a key component of growth is improving the performance of your marketing. Don’t leave it to chance. Like the budget cuts, important decisions need to be planned in advance. Investing in proper marketing preparation and planning can help today’s SMEs become tomorrow’s Corporates.