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Most UK small business owners are facing big decisions alone, data shows

30th September 2026

 

The Department for Business and Trade’s Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 found that only 25% of micro businesses, 35% of small businesses and 44% of medium-sized businesses sought any external information or strategic advice in the past year, down from 2015.

The problem appears to come from the structure of most SME’s, where no board or internal peer group usually exists to test decisions. A 2018 study by Ultimate Finance found that 73% of UK business owners admitted to feeling lonely running their company.

“I have seen that the higher leaders rise, the fewer people they have with whom they can openly test ideas or discuss difficult decisions without consequences. Many CEO’s and business owners carry the weight of decisions such as pricing, senior appointments and investment, restructuring and succession largely on their own. When mentored, they feel they approach the most difficult decisions with a steadier hand.” – Donald Stuart, Managing Partner of thexton armstrong UK.

The FSB cites research that has shown that 70% of small businesses who receive mentoring survive for five years or more (double the rate of non-mentored entrepreneurs). Whilst Sage, the software firm, states that 89% of SMEs acknowledge that mentoring can help them to succeed.

Unlike a board member, an employee or a consultant, a business advisor/mentor has no stake in the business itself. A co-founder, a senior employee or a consultant on retainer all have something to protect. A mentor does not, which may be why owners find it easier to think clearly in front of one and make fruitful decisions.