Well done to Grid Finance on publishing the results of their Red C poll of 300 Irish SMEs and the difficulties they face.
In Ireland’s current booming economy where there is great news on corporation tax receipts and large job announcements from foreign direct investment, the story for our own SMEs is far different and very scary. The findings in this poll include:
· Four out of every five said it was getting harder to keep their small businesses going.
· Only 61pc are making a profit, despite the relative strength of the economy.
· Nearly two-thirds of businesses in the hospitality sector said their cashflow was only poor to fair.
· One-third of all SMEs said they were behind on their financial obligations and cannot access affordable credit.
· Only a quarter said they believe their business will be doing better in the future.
· Two-thirds of businesses did not think the Government understood their needs when formulating policy.
Taking each of the above in isolation would prove worrying but taken together they paint a very poor picture of Irelands two-speed economy where the multinationals are largely doing very well but our own Irish SMEs are having an extremely difficult time.
If these SMEs are waiting for Government action to help, they will likely run out of money and time.
Are there possibilities for themselves to help them attain a better future? Quite possibly?
Could the Government do more to help and protect SMEs – Yes, definitely.
Our SMEs need and deserve more support but they must first of all do everything they can to ensure their own operations are being run as efficiently as possible.
If you are an SME in the above position (or heading that way) and you haven’t exhausted every possibility for a better outcome, don’t expect the Government to be the one to save your business.
Hope isn’t a strategy.
