Britain’s small businesses share secrets of pandemic survival

23rd May, 2022

62% of small businesses (SMEs) say revenue has increased over the last two years
48% have increased their staff numbers over the last two years
43% have managed to grow by pivoting their business to include something else
80% are concerned about how rising energy costs might affect their business

Monday 23rd May 2022: Over half (62%) of Great Britain’s small businesses have seen their revenue increase over the last two years, according to a new survey released today. But with energy prices on the rise, 80 per cent also said they were concerned about how these rising costs might affect their business.

The study of 500 SME owners was commissioned by Smart Energy GB. It found that nearly half (48 per cent) have increased their staff numbers over the last two years, with 43 per cent saying they managed to grow by pivoting their business to include something else. Another 45 per cent put their success down to investing time in their social media presence, to help drum up business.

The research also found 43 per cent of those polled have cut down on their overheads by encouraging staff to work from home more, and 45 per cent attribute their growth to an investment in technology.

Despite managing to stay afloat and even thrive during the pandemic, many are preparing for more turbulent times ahead. The survey found that 80% are concerned about how rising energy costs might affect their business and nearly a third (31%) are keeping a closer eye on how much they are spending on energy throughout the day. Over a quarter (27 per cent) have had or requested a smart meter installation, to help mitigate these concerns. A further quarter have also looked into options to use greener energy sources.

Nearly half (46 per cent) also believe they are still a few years away from accomplishing their business goals, and another 34 per cent admit they’re still quite far away from accomplishing what they hoped to do when they first started

The top goal for the majority of respondents over the next year is simply to bring in more money (35 per cent). Second on the list was updating the company website (29 per cent) followed by working on generating returning customers (27 per cent).

Victoria Bacon, Smart Energy GB, said:

“Many small businesses have shown incredible resilience and agility during the pandemic, but they’re also concerned about how rising energy costs might affect their business. When you’re focussing on trying to keep a business running smoothly, anything that helps make the day-to-day challenges a bit easier can be a welcome relief.

“Smart meters send accurate energy readings direct to your supplier so you don’t have to, freeing up more of your time to focus on other areas of your business. Installations normally take about two hours and are scheduled in advance so that you can make any necessary arrangements beforehand to ensure minimal disruption to your normal working day.”

To help other small businesses weather the difficult times ahead, owners of other British SMEs have shared their top 10 tips on how to survive - and thrive - during times of disruption.

Jordan Perata from Kilo, a Zero Waste shop in North London, Josh Kay from experiential design agency The Syrup Room in Bournemouth and Tash Gorst from We are Gather, a social enterprise in Peckham, have all seen their companies prosper.

A key survival tactic for Tash at We are Gather was being able to pivot the company’s organisations quickly.

For example, increasing their social media presence and providing a ‘click and collect’ service for vulnerable customers.

Gaining the customer’s trust and keeping them informed of any changes were also pivotal in trading during the pandemic.

All the businesses have also taken measures to become smart with their energy usage to lower their overheads amid rising costs.

Standard light fixtures at Jordan’s London shop have been replaced with LEDs and the store runs solely on renewable resources.

Similarly, The Syrup Room uses a fleet of only electric cars and vans.

Tash from We are Gather said: “As a business with an environmental mission, we're hyper aware of our energy use.

“For the sake of the planet and future generations, we all need to use less energy and be more efficient with the energy we do use.

“We limit our electrical items to the core few that are essential to our business, and when buying new we only go for efficient models."

“Whenever something's not in use, we turn it off at the wall - nothing is left on standby, ever.”

Contact your energy supplier to see if you are eligible for a smart meter installation, or visit www.smartenergygb.org to find out more.

TOP 10 HACKS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS, ACCORDING TO WE ARE GATHER, KILO AND THE SYRUP ROOM

Replace standard light fixtures with LEDs to reduce energy consumption
Switch to a renewable energy provider
Request a smart meter from your business’ energy supplier to ensure your bills are accurate
Keep your outgoings low wherever possible
Don't wait until everything's 'perfect' to start something
Be flexible and quickly adapt to changes
Communicate changes to loyal customers
Increase social media presence to help find new customers
Be patient and break your goals down into smaller achievable actions
Make sure your appliances are working efficiently

TOP 10 SME GOALS IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS:

To bring in more money
To build a new/updated website
To generate returning customers
To decrease working hours
To reach a new customer base
To break even
To release new products
Simply survive the year
To give money back to the local area/community
To reduce my energy consumption