We have all heard the famous phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The same goes for running a business successfully. It isn’t easy to grow a business solely based on individuals’ skills, experts and decision-making skills.
People usually listen to advice and ideas carefully, whether from loved ones, paid consultants or work partners. While the result of acting upon these ideas and advice can be beneficial, it can also generate opposite results.
Considering the fact we have surveyed over five hundred businesses running on small or micro levels and asked them about business advice and its results. Let’s have a look at what we derived from it:
Need Help or Have a Query? Get in touch with our professionals at AccountingFirms. Connect with the Best Accounting and Tax Experts near you in just 3 minutes – Register now for Free!
Good Business Advice:
According to 95% of business owners, they have received good business advice in the past. The advice was taken and implemented on various relevant subjects, including;
- Optimising Tax expenses
- The decision to focus either on revenue or profit
- Advice to invest in training
- Bookkeeping and Admin jobs
- Tips for expansion and growth of the business
- Advice on boosting productivity
- Recommendations for well-balanced work and personal life
However, female entrepreneurs got more good advice or recommendations compared to male business owners, i.e., 95.6% & 94%
The positive outcomes of this good business advice include;
- Grow business more successfully 27%
- Achieve more financial goals (67.5%)
- Able to perform efficiently 22.8%
- Successful got more clients (19.1%)
- Achieve a better balanced life (17.3%)
According to a few businesses, they efficiently retain work and clients. Over 15.2% and over 8% did better on taxes. Those who talked about achieving more financial goals earned revenue overall £12,481.70, and one out of ten gained over 25 thousand pounds.
Exploring Data of Industry and City for Good Business Advice
Further data analysis indicated that these business sectors have received more good business advice:
- Sales
- Accountancy
- Voluntary and Charity work
- Finance and Banking
- HR and Recruitment Industry
- Administration and Public Services
- Teacher Education and Training
- Advertising, Public Relations (PR) and Marketing
- Likewise, the business sectors that got the least good business advice are:
- Tourism and Sports
- Leisure
- Social and Public Care
- Internet services provider
- Media Service provider
- Law departments
- Agriculture sector
- Environment Industries
While looking at the data more closely, it was observed that business sectors in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Norwich and Bristol received more good business advice. On the other hand, the least good business advice was received by Newcastle, Cardiff and Liverpool business owners.
Bad Business Advice
According to the survey, several business sectors received bad business advice. The advice was given on subjects like;
- Taxation matters
- Contract drafting and handling
- Bookkeeping and admin
- Investments and Finance
- Recruiting Personals
The data analysis shows that male business owners received more bad advice, i.e. 67%, than female business entrepreneurs, i.e. 55.3%.
The result of these bad advice on the business was:
- Losing clients 7.7%
- Heavy Financial lose 42.7%
- Mental Stress 29.1%
The worst impact of this advice was an increase in insurance claims made on various businesses by over 6.8% and a halt in the hiring process in the organisation by over 5%. Likewise, few businesses faced failure in growth over 3.9%
Moreover, over 5% of people have lost personal assets and over 2% have lost their houses. The bad business advice is an average cost loss of over 9 thousand pounds, and 1 out of 20 lost over 25 thousand pounds.
The accounting and finance sectors faced the worst impact of these bad business decisions. The data revealed the advice only impacted over 5 million microbusinesses in the UK in 2021. Moreover, the financial impact was a loss of over 3 million.
Simply put, based on the data, the negative impact of this bad advice has cost a financial loss of approx. 13 billion pounds.
Exploring Data of Industry and City for Bad Business Advice
- Healthcare Department
- Finance and Banking
- Accountancy
- Social Care
- Internet sector
- Media Sector
The least likely impacted business sectors are:
- Welfare, voluntary and charity
- Design and Arts
- Public Relations, Marketing and advertising
- Logistics and Transportation
- Energy and misc. Utilities.
The business sectors that received direct negative impact are;
Accountancy, Banking, Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, Finance, Teacher training and education. The logistics and transportation witnessed the direct financial impact of bad advice. The average loss amount is recorded as over 16 thousand pounds.
Apart from these sectors, the top industries that bear financial losses include:
- Energy and misc. Utility sector witnessed a loss of over 16 thousand
- Information Technology witnessed a loss of over 14 thousand
- Event Management and Hospitality witnessed a loss of over 12 thousand
- Social and Public Care witnessed a loss of over 11 thousand
These sectors witnessed huge financial impacts
- Teacher education and Training witnessed an impact of over 11 thousand
- The healthcare sector witnessed an impact of over 10 thousand
While breaking down the survey data more deeply, the financial impact on other sectors is as follows
- Management and Consultancy witnessed an impact of over 9 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Art & Design witnessed an impact of nearly a thousand pounds (approx.)
- The construction and Real Estate Sector witnessed an impact of over 8 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Welfare and charity witnessed an impact of around 8 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Administration and Public Services witnessed an impact of nearly 8 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Agriculture and the Environment witnessed an impact of over 7 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Retail witnessed an impact of nearly 7 thousand (approx.)
- Internet and Media witnessed an impact of over 6 thousand pounds (approx.)
- HR, Recruitment, Sports, Tourism and Leisure witnessed an impact of over 6 thousand pounds (approx.)
- Banking, accounting and finance witnessed an impact of nearly 6 thousand pounds.
The industries that faced the lightest negative financial impacts from 3 thousand pounds to 6 thousand pounds are;
- Pharmaceuticals, Science, Marketing, Public Relations, advertising, Sales and Law enforcement.
Data Segregation Based on Locations:
Now, looking at the collected data based on locations,
- The business owners in Sheffield received most of the bad business advice with an 84.6% ratio. Birmingham received over 75.8 % bad business advice; Norwich stands third with 71.4% bad business advice.
Further in the ranking are:
- Leeds with 56.4%
- Newcastle with 56.5%
- Belfast with 58.3%
- Glasgow with 58.3%
- Nottingham with 58.8%
- London with 62.3%
- Southampton with 62.5%
- Bristol, with 66.7%
- Liverpool with 69.6%
The areas with the least received bad business advice are
- Manchester 54.3%
- Cardiff 52.2% and
- Edinburgh 50%
Hazards of Bad Business Advice
Bad business advice means your business is more prone to downfall. It increases the chances of blunders, things getting out of hand, insurance claims and, worst, losing property or precious assets.
Dealing with insurance claims over negligence can impact expertise credibility and cost money and time.
Therefore, protecting your finances, work, and reputation with a decency and professional team of experts is important. You will be paying for your fights against damages and compensation. Ultimately, it will offer you peace of mind to be more productive.
Why Choose Accounting Firms?
The data above has shown that bad advice hurts the business, including losing clients, heavy financial impacts and loss of precious assets. The bad advice comes from unexperienced or unprofessional people.
Our team at the Accounting Firms is expert and experienced. We are here to match the businesses with the right professionals. So you can save your costs on bad advice and take your business to the next level of success.
Disclaimer: The information provided on AccountingFirms.co.uk is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. Always consult with a professional accountant to ensure compliance with UK laws and regulations.