Hard as it may seem, the era of internet disruption is already here and South African small businesses who are not prepared to take these trends seriously may soon be in for a surprise. From the recent survey conducted by GoDaddy, only half of the South African small businesses reported either having their own website (28%) or are planning to build one soon (22%), while around 42% said they rely solely on social media platforms. 

The GoDaddy Global Small Business Research Survey was conducted in April and May 2019 in Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, United States, and the United Kingdom.

The GoDaddy Global Small Business Research Survey Is Interesting In Many Ways

GoDaddy also looked at the attitudes of small business owners. Here are some of the key findings:

• Small business owners in South Africa value the flexibility of running their own business, with nearly half (48%) saying it’s the best aspect of being an entrepreneur. For 13% of respondents, the money they can make is the biggest plus of running their own small business, while 12% cited helping the world to solve a problem;
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• On the flip-side, 32% said that the risk of failure and uncertainty about the future is the worst thing about being a small business owner;

• Encouragingly, 91% of South African respondents said they would start their own business if they had to make the choice again knowing what they know now, and 84% reported they are happier since becoming an entrepreneur;

• The skills shortage is a major challenge for small South African businesses, with 76% saying it is somewhat hard, hard, or very hard to find talented workers;

• 57% of small South African businesses serve mostly local customers (within 80 kilometers of their location) and only 10% serve mostly international customers;

• 41% of small business owners worked for a corporate employer before setting up their own venture; 26% were working for a small business; 16% were unemployed and 16% were students.

Right Now, Small Businesses In South Africa Say The Major Problems of Running A Small Business In South Africa Include:

Insufficient Investment 

Around one third (34%) identified insufficient investment as a significant obstacle to growth, followed by failure to keep up with technology (20%) and cyber-security risks (13%).

Instability

Almost half (46%) of South African small businesses cited political instability and social turbulence as may be caused by change, including economic, technological or cultural factors as a major challenge to their growth prospects.

Cyber Attack

While few small businesses (7%) in the South African sample reported being victims of a cyber-attack, for those who did, the consequences were severe.

Those who were attacked reported that it shut down their business for some time; customers couldn’t reach them. They had to spend money to repair systems, and they lost access to accounts needed to service their customers, the survey found.

Technology and Disruptions

One of the biggest issues facing workers globally is the rise of automation, artificial intelligence and robot disruption that raises concerns about the future of jobs.

However, the vast majority of small business owners in South Africa believe they are insulated from those risks — 70% felt protected against job loss from these technology developments.

While technology disruption is likely to pose challenges, it also can reduce the barrier to entry to create a small business.

Local small businesses were least likely to have a website among the countries in the survey, and the most likely to rely on social channels, the survey noted

Optimism In The Face of Challenges

Even with these challenges South African small business owners remain optimistic, with 76% reporting they expect to grow at least 25% in the next three years, according to the GoDaddy Global Small Business survey.

Research firm Savanta conducted the field research of the 4,505 small businesses in the countries. The South African respondents comprised companies with less than 25 employees.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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