VANCOUVER, B.C. – Cash flow is the biggest struggle for small business owners in this market, according to a survey conducted by Vancity Credit Union.
Vancity commissioned Insights West to conduct the survey on small business to identify major areas of stress for small business owners, discover barriers to success and assess their needs. The survey was conducted for Small Business Week, and in advance of launching the “Small Business BC’s Good Money Talks Small Business” series on Oct. 29.
The Good Money Talks series is four different half-day seminars the credit union said are tailored for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The seminars, the first of which will focus on cash flow, are free.
According to Vancity, of the small business owners polled:
- Managing cash flow is the main “stress producer” (43%), followed by balancing growth of the business with day-to-day operations (29%).
- Finding new clients is the most significant barrier to success (55%) followed by having enough time to run the business (39%).
- Less than one-third (32%) have an up-to-date business plan.
- Just one in five (20%) have a financial advisor for their business, relying instead on written resources (43%), accountants (37%), friends (34%) and family (32%).
- Half (50%) say social media is important to the success of their business, yet only a little over one-third (35%) have a social media presence.
- Social media is used significantly more often as a promotional tool (33%) compared to online advertising (15%).
- Almost half (47%) of small business owners say that customers find them through a website, but the vast majority (90%) say word of mouth continues to be the main promotional vehicle.
The $18.6-billion Vancity has 509,000 members.