UK small business owners have to be ‘Jack of all trades’

A survey of 1000 small business owners, commissioned by AXA UK, found almost three quarters had to take on more roles than they anticipated

84% of those questioned said they felt like a ‘Jack of all trades’, juggling different jobs including accountancy, social media and cleaning

The survey was conducted as part of AXA UK’s ‘Being self-employed shouldn’t be a risk’ campaign which shines a light on the country’s small business owners and the challenges they face

The typical small business owner has at least five different roles, ranging from accountancy to social media promotion.

A poll of 1,000 SME owners found almost three-quarters (73 per cent) wear more hats than they’d anticipated.

And a whopping 84 per cent said they feel like they have to be a ‘Jack of all trades’ in their workplace.

More than a third (34 per cent) have dabbled in social media promotion, while 21 per cent have had to do a crash course in legal matters.

It emerged 39 per cent have found themselves having to get to grips with marketing and 28 per cent have had to take up cleaning.

And four in 10 said being a sole trader is a cause of many of the problems they face.

Other struggles for small business owners include accounting issues (13 per cent) and finances (seven per cent).

The research was commissioned by AXA UK as part of its ‘Being self-employed shouldn’t be a risk’ campaign, which aims to help SME owners better navigate their day-to-day working lives.

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, with 84 per cent saying they had to be a Jack of all trades.

We understand the challenges small business owners face. By making sure they only pay for what they need when it comes to insurance, plus providing a range of business tools and a 24/7 health support line, we are helping them to thrive.

Tara Foley, CEO at AXA UK&I

During a typical working week, SME business owners estimate they spend three days’ worth of overtime outside their ‘normal’ working hours to get everything done – highlighting just how challenging it can be to balance the needs of the business.

The research found 29 per cent of those polled 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 said they 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.

More than a quarter (26 per cent) said there’s not enough general help and advice for business owners, with 17 per cent concerned they might not have the right business insurance.

One in 10 believed running their business was easier than they initially expected – while 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.

REVEALED: THE OTHER ROLES SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE HAVING TO TAKE ON

Finances
Admin
Accounting
Sales
Customer service
Marketing
IT
Social media promotion
Advertising
Operations
Cleaning
Insurance
Content creator
Maintenance
HR
Production
Legal
PR
Events

Cooking ‘Being self employed shouldn’t be a risk’ is part of AXA’s ‘Why should the future be a risk?’ brand campaign series. This latest chapter demonstrates how AXA can help small businesses take control of their future – full details can be found here.

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About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

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Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

Survey reveals UK small business owners have to be ‘Jack of all trades’