Most business owners believe surviving the recession is down to their own initiative and determination, new research suggests.
The report by financial software company Intuit found that 75% of small businesses think they are fully in control of their own chances for success.
While one in 20 businesses say they have been impacted by the recession so severely they fear collapse, the report also found that a quarter have felt no impact at all and a further third said the effects had been negligible.
The most common course of action to ensure survival by small businesses is reducing overheads, according to Intuit. Some 45% of respondents said they had tightened the management of outgoings.
A further third introduced new products or services. Renegotiating prices with suppliers also proved a popular tactic – 74% of business owners who tried this approach reported success.
“For the past year, small business Britain has been struggling with one of the worst recessions of all time,” said Pernille Bruun-Jensen, managing director of global small business at Intuit.
“With over 35% of the UK economy reliant on the more than 4.7 million small businesses operating in the UK, their success is as vital as any of the large publically quoted businesses.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2009
