SMEs in the UK, US, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands were, overall, confident of a successful year ahead for their businesses. The infographic revealed that 48% of SMEs felt confident, as opposed to 27% who were inclined to be more pessimistic.
High percentages – 75% – were hopeful about their businesses not making any redundancies in the forthcoming year. There was a similar positive feeling about recruitment also.
Around a third of SMEs admitted to losing sleep because of worrying about financial issues. But, a similar percentage saw the difficult financial times as a reason to work harder and to become more efficient – and so consequently enable a better chance of future success.
There were big differences, as regards the confidence of SMEs in individual countries. 61% of Dutch SMEs were confident about the next year, but only 28% of Spanish SMEs were. French SMEs optimism was also low, on 35%. Germany, the US, and UK joined the Netherlands in being confident about the next twelve months. In Germany, 59% felt positive, and 55% in the US, and 47% in the UK were also optimistic.
The research, by Hiscox business insurance, showed that Spanish SMEs were also generally worried about issues such as personal bankruptcy and increased stress levels. Germany (58%) and the US (50%) had recorded increased profits, with 54% of British SMEs being happy with the progress of their business.
