Jack of All Trades: the Entrepreneurial 'can-do' Attitude Poses Potential Risks for Small Businesses

Jack of All Trades: the Entrepreneurial 'can-do' Attitude Poses Potential Risks for Small Businesses PR Newswire LONDON, June 28, 2012 LONDON, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'can do' attitude that entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive could also be their Achilles heel, according to new research released today by specialist [1]insurer Hiscox. The research found that despite 71% saying that legal and 43% saying that accounting issues should be handled by a professional, only 30% of small business owners actually employ full and/or part time help in these areas of expertise. When asked which area of running a business they lacked the most knowledge of, over half of respondents said legal (52%) followed by taxes (42%), IT (22%), insurance (19%) and sales and marketing (23%). But over three quarters (77%) do not believe this to be a threat to their business, and 36% are determined to find a way through any problems themselves. Over a third (35%) of small business owners say their passion for their idea gets them through the pressures of day-to-day management of their business and 48% believe pressure is what they signed up for when they started out. "We know that entrepreneurs are committed to giving their businesses nothing less than a hundred per cent and they are often stretched to become a 'jack of all trades'.