September Small Business Momentum Survey

Confidence has taken a 10 percentage point dive in September with only 30% of businesses feeling confident about their business prospects, down from 40% in August.

Increasing operating costs remain a primary challenge, with businesses struggling to find a balance between rising expenses and keeping product prices competitive. The next highest concerns were red tape followed by cashflow and availability of working capital, with 68% expressing concern for each.

Expectations about revenue and profitability remained relatively stable in recent months. However, the outlook remains challenging with more businesses indicating they expect revenue and profits to decline compared with those that expect an improvement.