The ‘can do’ attitude that entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive could also be their Achilles heel, research finds.

The ‘can do’ attitude that entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive could also be their Achilles heel, research finds.

According to a study by specialist insurer Hiscox, despite 71 per cent saying that legal and 43 per cent saying that accounting issues should be handled by a professional, only 30 per cent of small business owners actually employ full and/or part time help in these areas of expertise.  

When asked which area of running a business they lacked the most knowledge of, over half of respondents say legal (52 per cent) followed by taxes (42 per cent), IT (22 per cent), insurance (19 per cent) and sales and marketing (23 per cent).

More than three quarters (77 per cent) do not believe their lack of knowledge to be a threat to their business, and 36 per cent are determined to find a way through any problems themselves.    

Some 35 per cent of small business owners say their passion for their idea gets them through the pressures of day-to-day management of their business and 48 per cent believe pressure is what they signed up for when they started out.  

Small business expert at Hiscox Deepak Soni says, ‘We know that entrepreneurs are committed to giving their businesses nothing less than 100 per cent and they are often stretched to become a ‘jack of all trades’.

‘Our research shows there could be a skills gap between what they admit they lack knowledge of, and what they are willing to invest in.’

Despite the potential hazards of legal and financial errors, more business owners employ an office manager than an accountant and/or in-house legal counsel (19 per cent against 5 per cent).

However, if they could employ another person, 18 per cent believe that the professional assistance that would be most valuable to their business would be an accountant or lawyer.

See also: Insight into entrepreneurs