Growing pains: How to help small businesses scale
Small businesses are often described as the backbone of the UK economy. It is easy to see why.
From corner shops to established family firms and ambitious start-ups, these small enterprises play an essential role in local communities up and down the country.
They are also vital to the resilience of the wider economy.
Small businesses – which have fewer than 50 employees – account for 99 per cent of UK firms and 48 per cent of all jobs.
And during the last decade it was the smallest firms, rather than large corporations, that were the biggest drivers of economic growth.
Why start-up numbers don't tell the whole story
The UK is home to a vibrant start-up scene. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey shows that one in three adults now run their own business or is looking to start one in the next three years.
This appears to be great news. The number of start-ups in an economy is widely regarded as a headline indicator of business growth.
Less attention tends to be given to the proportion of those start-ups that survive or scale up to create healthy revenues and more job opportunities.
The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC), based at Warwick Business School and Aston University Business School, has delved more deeply into the factors affecting small business productivity.
Our extensive programme of research reveals a more troubling picture of the state of ‘small business Britain’.
Author: Stephen Roper, Vicki Belt, and Mark Hart
