23 April 2008, 20:22 PM
  • Research by a leading social entrepreneur networking website has revealed that nearly 40% of small business owners and
    social entrepreneurs have experienced cash flow problems in the last few months as a result of the worsening economic
    situation.

In a sign that the credit crunch may now be starting to have an impact on the small business sector, research findings show
UnLtdWorld commissioned the research and asked the small business owners and social entrepreneurs who have
signed up to its website and across the web a number of questions about the current state of the economy. 984 people took part in the research and statistics go some way to proving that the credit crunch is now affecting smaller companies.

Along with facing day to day cash flow difficulties, it would appear that small business owners are finding it harder to secure finance with 68% of those business owners who had recently applied for a business loan or credit card being turned down. Twenty-one percent said that their business had been badly affected by the recent financial problems in the UK such as a training, research and consultancy company who has faced difficulties in its industry due to a reduction in buyers’ budgets.

Speaking about the research Alberto Nardelli, chief strategist for UnLtdWorld said, “We wanted to get a better understanding of the real financial position .faced by many small business owners and social entrepreneurs. To some extent, the outlook seems quite bleak for now.

“We had noticed an increase in discussions relating to financial difficulties across our social networking site and the research has presented us with a really clear picture of the extent of the issues.”