WHEN STARTING THEIR COMPANY, 79% OF OWNERS SAY THEY LACKED FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS SKILLS

KEY INTERNAL CHALLENGES BUSINESS OWNERS ACROSS EUROPE FACE:

AS A RESULT OF THESE INTERNAL CHALLENGES:

This is particularly the case for:

of owners lacked skills in finance and accounting50% in legal,

bureaucracy and compliance 48% in IT software 36% in IT hardware33%

DESPITE THESE ROADBLOCKS, EUROPEAN SMBS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT GROWTH IN 2015:

on average su�er from too much paperwork/ admin. This is made up of:

31%

admitted that paperwork and administration take up most of their time

20%

feel they spend too much time on IT related tasks

20%

44%France

48%Spain

43%Italy

28%Germany

20%Russia28%

UK

legal/financial/accountancy firms and IT/communications firms across Europe

35% 34%

of small business owners feel they’re unable to spend enough time on growth opportunities

Business Bytes is an information hub run by Canon to help businesses achieve their goals. For more information, please visit: http://www.canon.co.uk/business-bytes/

UK aspiration: France aspiration: Russia aspiration:

would like to spend more time on sales and business development

29% 32%

of European small business owners were motivated to start their business so they could become their own boss54%

SMALL BUSINESS DRIVERS AND ROADBLOCKS

To grow bigger in an already saturated market by finding

innovative technologies to enter niches.

Update equipment, Recruit sta�,

and expand our client base.

To be making a reasonable living to be

able to a�ord to live comfortably.