A new report from entrepreneur support network Enterprise Nation has revealed that one in three small business owners in the UK works a full-time or part-time job on the side to survive.
The report, titled Mentoring Matters: Four Years On, draws on 3,406 responses across seven surveys since spring 2023 and highlights the struggles of the UK's 5.7 million small businesses.
Researchers found that a third of business owners, including shopkeepers and white van men, have a second job, with nearly half of those businesses originally launched as a side hustle.
Long hours and low pay
The average owner is putting in at least nine hours a day from Monday to Friday, or 45 hours a week, on their business, beyond whatever time they commit to a second job.
This latest report follows Enterprise Nation's Small Business Barometer, which revealed three in four traders pay themselves £7.75 an hour, less than the Living Wage.
Another report, Growth on Hold, exposed how traders are cutting staff (42%) or delaying growth plans (77%) due to mounting costs.
Lack of mentoring
Despite the pressures of running their own companies, many founders do not have an experienced adviser to turn to, with around six in 10 (60%) turning to AI for advice.
Nearly three in five (57%) small business owners have never had a mentor, a figure that rises to 63% for sole traders. Enterprise Nation estimates around 660,000 additional small businesses could gain access to mentoring if uptake among solo founders matched that of employers.
The report highlights how mentoring goes hand in hand with seeking help: more than half (56%) of mentored owners looked for business support in the last year, compared to two-fifths (43%) of those who have never had a mentor.
Growth prospects
Many looked online for answers, with most consulting private-sector business support (77%) or Government websites (63%). Around half sought help from business books or podcasts (49%) or social media (48%). Almost a quarter (24%) of owners who sought business support said they could not find anything that worked for them.
The report reveals that entrepreneurs who have received mentoring are more likely to be looking at growth over the next year. More than half (53%) of mentored entrepreneurs expect to take on new employees in the coming year, compared to just over a third (36%) of those without a mentor.
Aaron Asadi, Chief Executive of Enterprise Nation, said: “The world small businesses work in has changed sharply since our first report in 2022.
“Cost pressures have not gone away, and owners are running leaner, working longer and making more of the big calls alone.
“Too many are doing it without anyone to turn to. Nearly three in five small business owners have never had a mentor, and the owners with least to fall back on are the least likely to have one.
“Mentoring works: Help to Grow: Management participants rate it above everything else the course gives them. The next step is to put a trained, matched mentor within reach of the solo founders and smallest firms the current course does not cover.”
