The data shows that, on average, small-business owners are doing the jobs of at least five people due to staff cutbacks, sickness and labour shortages.
The study of 500 small-business owners and decision-makers found that every day, they are managing the business’ finances, sales and marketing, as well as taking care of the administration, advertising, and the HR.
However, the survey also revealed that 61 per cent admitted they still get confused about how to do things on a day-to-day basis in areas such as cleaning, operations and events.
The things that most concern small-business owners are managing business expenses (26 per cent), staff pensions (25 per cent) and ensuring wages are fair (23 per cent), while tax declarations, maternity and paternity schemes, and health and safety reports also cause headaches for those trying to run a business.
Sharon Ellis, from Virgin Money, said there are so many areas to a business, from finance and accounts to HR and marketing and sales.
“It’s impossible to be equally skilled in all areas, but the results show many decision makers high up at businesses and even owners have dabbled in all areas to keep things going,” she said.
“We know that small business owners are time poor and are looking for new ways to navigate the changing world around them.”
The study also found other reasons for owners and bosses taking on other roles included staff being on furlough (36 per cent), sick leave (36 per cent), or maternity (35 per cent).
But 62 per cent believe it’s impossible to be skilled in all areas of the business, while 38 per cent admitted they had made a significant mistake due to not being confident in a specific skill.
It also found that 23 per cent admitted the day-to-day running of a business is harder than they initially expected, leaving them feeling stressed (29 per cent), tired (28 per cent) and confused (27 per cent).
A further 28 per cent have also felt overworked, with those polled, via OnePoll, typically working outside of their contracted hours four days a week, with 45 per cent working through the weekend to get everything done.
