In the UK, small businesses with 0 to 49 employees represent the heartbeat of the economy, accounting for 99.2% of all registered companies, according to government statistics.
Of these 5.47 million organisations, 4.1 million are classified as micro businesses, operating with no registered employees.
Given these figures – how does the UK small business landscape compare to that of the US?
US Small Business Landscape
Forbes Advisor recently released statistics on the US small business landscape, from which we have compiled the most compelling aspects of their research:
- Small businesses account for 99.9% of all businesses across the US. This equates to 33.2 million small businesses.
- Of these 33.2 million small businesses, over 80% of them (27.1 million) operate under a single owner and have zero employees
- Despite the fact that the majority of small business have no employees, this type of organisation employs nearly half of all employees in the US (46.4% – equating to 61.7 million employees)
- Since February 2020 (and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic), the sector that saw the largest drop off in employment was Leisure and Hospitality, cutting 633,000 jobs
- There is a clear ‘generation gap’, with Millennials and Gen Z owning just 7% and 1% of small businesses, respectively
- 29% of small business owners are yet to embrace the digital revolution and have no website to promote their organisation
- Labour is the single largest cost centre for small businesses, accounting for 70% of spending. This is followed by inventory, which typically represents between 17-25% of business budgets.
- 1 in 5 businesses fail within their first year of operating. The most significant influencing factor for this is a lack of market demand (42% of failed businesses), followed by running out of capital (38% of businesses)
Small businesses access unsecured, fast funding from Got Capital. As an alternative lender, Got Capital offers financing solutions specifically designed for and catered to the needs of SMEs.
