Though the risk of starting a business will always be massive, digital public relations agency 10Yetis conducted a survey to help business owners minimize this risk to the greatest extent possible. The respondents were asked to choose which facets of their businesses they felt were neglected the most.

The resulting data revealed the following most frequently appearing answers: employee happiness and welfare (41%), marketing (32%), staff training (25%), finances (16%) and customer service (14%).  The amount of small business owners ignoring employee satisfaction is alarming, as founder of 10Yetis Andy Barr says, “As a business owner, you never want to feel like you are neglecting any area of your business. Sometimes, time can run away from you and, before you know it, those things you should’ve been prioritising have fallen by the wayside. We didn’t expect to see employee welfare and happiness at the top of the neglected list, as if you don’t look after your staff then your business will ultimately suffer.”

Though two-fifths of all respondents admitting to ignorance of employee happiness is disturbing, the survey also uncovered a more promising statistic: 62% of those who believed they were not giving enough attention to the morale of their employees are seeking to implement a system which would ensure the contentment of their staff.

A more discouraging statistic emerged in relation to marketing, the second most-prominently neglected business aspect. Only 41% of all respondents admitted to having a solid marketing and PR plan with regular activity, while 27% confessed to engaging in marketing very infrequently. A follow up question asked in the survey gives some explanation why marketing is treated so carelessly, as 44% of relevant businesses involved with the survey see PR as a response to a crisis as opposed to a tool which can be used to increase brand awareness.

With the revelations from this survey, 10Yetis has equipped small business owners with information which will help them be more cognisant of what is currently being overlooked in their own companies.

The survey consisted of over 600 participants, all of whom were SME or start-up business owners or directors.