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Brick No106: The most frequently used sources of business advice
By Matt Weston, Tuesday 26 October 2004 Dark Clouds Everyday is like Sunday at the FSB. In case you're not already aware of it, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a lobbying and membership body with over 185,000 small business owners on its books. Its remit (IMHO): to follow around every black cloud on the small business horizon . . . and to produce press release after press release bemoaning the state of the small business nation. Sometimes they read like headlines from the Daily Hell: "FSB reveals that cheques never clear" . . . "Education is failing small businesses, says FSB" . . . "FSB demands public apology over disgraceful IR letters" . . . "Small businesses suffer waste information vacuum, says FSB" That said, I can't fault the FSB on what it does best: its lobbying delivers results on behalf of members, and I've never heard a bad word said about its range of member benefits. Earlier this year the FSB conducted its third biennial survey of its members, with 18,635 replying. Along with 70 other questions, respondents were asked what sources of business advice they had used in the past year. The most frequently used sources of business advice I'll let the stats do the talking: . Accountants (74.1%) . Banks (33.8%) . Solicitors (30.4%) . Other Business Owners (28.7%) . Customers (21.9%) . Trade Associations (20.2%) . Suppliers (18.4%) . Government Funded Business Support (16.7%) . National/ Local Gvt Agencies (4%) . Inland Revenue (3.8%) As usual, almost every journalist on the block did the same lazy identikit write-up. One parroted write-up too many (in the IBA journal last month) has spurred me to write. Without exception, the headline stat was that government funded business support (your local Business Link, Business Gateway, or Business Support Gateway) had 16.7% usage. Everyone seems to assume that government funded business support is the untapped resource here. But from the dozens of conversations I have with other small business owners every week, it doesn't surprise me one iota that the usage is lower than say trade associations. Rightly or wrongly, I believe small business owners are reluctant to take business advice from people they think simply don't share their mindset (entrepreneur VS bureaucrat). Two horror stats No, for me the research shows up two horror stats, stand-out figures that have until now only been given a cursory mention: (1) that only 21.9% of FSB members use their customers for advice AND (2) that only 28.7% consult with other small business owners. You know what I think about (1). Our gaping advantage as small business owners over big businesses is that we, in the words of Tom Peters, can be "inseparable from the customer". If you don't turn to your customers for advice, you're shooting in the dark. As for (2) . . . surely if you have 185,000 members it should be easy to get them to talk to each other? It bothers me that a body so brilliant at lobbying MPs and the Inland Revenue hasn't managed to connect more of its members. Why? Because for me, sharing advice with other small business owners is the great untapped resource here (not Business Link etc). Only another business owner can truly stand in your shoes, empathise with your problem and give you a fresh take on your business. Remember to sign up: back to top |
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