Every quarter we survey our members to get real insight into what’s happening in the business community in the North East. We ask about key topics including business confidence, growth, barriers to growth, people, sales and exit plans.
Highlights:
> Optimism levels remain high with 77% reporting feeling either optimistic or very optimistic about their business prospects in the coming 12 months.
> Revenue growth is expected to come primarily from existing markets (83%).
> Recruitment is a priority with 60% of businesses reporting plans to increase headcount in the next 12 months.
> 17% of members are considering acquisition to grow their businesses, whilst 18% are looking at international expansion.
> The biggest challenge remains building a great team to support growth ambitions. Over half of entrepreneurs said they found managing people to be a barrier to growth.
> Founders are in no rush to exit their businesses with only 8% looking for an exit within 3 years. Over half have no plans at all to exit.
