This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Report on small businesses
25/09/2003
A survey into the attitudes of owners
of small businesses was today published by the Executive.
The message was generally a positive one
with the majority of businesses saying they were doing
well.
The "Small Business Service Omnibus
Survey 2003 Report" was commissioned by the Executive to
provide information on the views of owners of small and
medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on a wide range of issues.
It is a large scale survey with a
representative sample of all SMEs in Scotland.
Commenting on the report, Deputy
Minister for Enterprise, Lewis Macdonald said:
"I welcome this representative survey
which reflects our commitment to listening to the views of
small and medium-sized businesses.
The study shows that over four-fifths of
businesses are doing well.
I am also encouraged that most businesses
using the Small Business Gateway would recommend it to
others.
"It is clear from the survey, however,
that we need to do more to raise the profile of government
business support services.
The major awareness raising campaign
accompanying the launch of the new Business Gateway will
play a key role in addressing this issue.
"We will reflect carefully on all the
findings for future policy development."
Some of the key findings include:
Over four-fifths (83%) of
respondents said their business was doing
well.
21 per cent of SMEs employ
more people than a year earlier.
63 per cent of respondents
say that they would encourage someone else to start
up in business. Views were most positive in
transport and construction businesses (72 per cent
and 67 per cent) and least positive in
manufacturing (48 per cent).
22 per cent of businesses
have successfully raised finance in the past year -
higher than in the UK as a whole (18 per cent).
However, the proportion of businesses seeking
finance was higher in Scotland compared to the UK
as a whole (26 per cent vs 20 per cent).
When asked to rank obstacles
to success, nearly one in five Scottish businesses
consider the economic environment to be the
greatest obstacle.
The next most commonly cited
obstacles were competition or winning sales, tax
and regulations.
In the UK as a whole, businesses
considered regulations to be the greatest obstacle
to success.
The survey found that most
SMEs using the Small Business Gateway were
satisfied and 75% of those using the service would
recommend it to others.
However 43 per cent of SMEs
were not aware of the Small Business Gateway and
had therefore not used it.
The new Business Gateway
was launched on 14 July and replaced the
Small Business Gateway.
The Business Gateway has a single first
contact access number - 0845 609 6611 - and new Website -
www.bgateway.com
The survey commissioned by the
Executive was an extension, or "boost", of a survey carried
out by the Small Business Service (part of DTI) across the
UK in 2002.
The questionnaire was modified to take
account of the Scottish business environment.
A previous survey took place in Scotland in
October 2001.
The study was conducted on behalf of
the Executive by Databuild.
A representative sample of 1,000 owners of
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout
Scotland was surveyed between October and December 2002.
SMEs are defined as having
less than 250
employees.