You can’t have failed to notice, given the big red stamps stating the fact on each of the feature pages, that this is the inaugural Micro-business special issue. What you may be less clear about is what exactly a micro-business is.

Well, there is no simple answer. Different people will take into consideration different factors: should you consider number of staff or turnover? Does sector or geography make a difference? Are sub-categories needed for clarity? You could go on and on. PrintWeek, though, had to draw the line somewhere and, on the advice of an elite set of print experts, we opted to define a micro-business simply as any company with 10 staff or fewer. 

As to why we felt the need to make a distinction at all, well, in print as in all sectors, it’s often the bigger companies that are best at getting their views heard and their causes fought. It is much harder for the thousands of small businesses that quietly get on with the job of providing print services to be heard, as they have neither the resources nor the time to plead their case or push for their needs to be addressed.

This Micro-business special issue is about trying to assist those printers. The product portfolio features look at two products accessible to a micro-business (p14 and p17) and the client insight feature on page 18 is a look at why clients really appreciate working with a smaller company. Below, meanwhile, PrintWeek attempts to pinpoint the unique challenges micro-businesses face and begin the process of providing some solutions.

"It is very difficult to see micro-businesses as one body of companies, or assume that they face the same challenges," says Bobb. "As soon as you start working with these companies closely, you find that the problems tend to be very bespoke to each company."

That said, he explains that some general points can be drawn out that will affect the majority, including late payments, competition and lack of time to draw in new business. There is also the fact that the government is not exactly helping when it comes to small businesses, says Bobb.

"Government legislation and the systems that government insists businesses put in place, administration-wise, are a real problem for micro-businesses," he explains. "Time is money and all the red tape government insists on takes up so much time – and these businesses don’t have HR departments or accounts departments; it’s one person doing it all."

One way around these issues, says Bobb, is to use consultants or external services on an as-needed basis. He says the problem in print is that there has long been a disinclination to use these services.

"There has always been a reticence from small businesses to look outside for help, whether it costs money or otherwise," he explains. "Many of the manufacturers offer business support facilities as part of the deal for kit, but not many people take advantage of it. Part of that is down to mistrust – and a reluctance not to let their supplier know they need help – and part of it is business owners not wanting to range outside their comfort zones."

Another issue Bobb pinpoints as important is prioritisation. He says that many of the issues micro-businesses face could be better handled if the company had a clear view of what it was doing, which would enable problems to be prioritised according to importance, rather than dealing with every issue in the same way. He argues there is simply neither the time nor the resources to have that latter approach.

For Bobb, then, some of the more general issues facing micro-businesses could be solved by government making more of an effort to reduce the administrative obligations, alongside small business owners being more willing to take the advice from BAPC and others, while being more selective in problem solving.

Key issues The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) also feels micro-businesses have it tough at the moment, but it does say that things seem to be improving.

"If you look at the announcements government has made over the past few months, particularly in the Autumn Statement, we think that there is a lot of positive news for small businesses," says Liesl Smith, spokesperson for the FSB. "The increase in the capital allowance is a great example, as it should help a lot of small companies invest."

Despite this slight upturn in outlook for micro-businesses, the FSB does think that businesses of this size still face difficult and unique issues going forwards. Below, Smith outlines the top five issues, as identified by the FSB, and what needs to be done to address them.

Access to finance
"We had some research published recently that found that four out of ten small businesses had been refused loans, which is not acceptable. We need more small businesses to have access to finance – too few businesses are able to get the money they need currently to reinvest and their inability to do that is harming the economy as a whole. We need much better access to funds, and more variety in the offering. We are pushing for there to be more avenues opened up for businesses to apply for loans so there is more competition in the market. We hope that the small business bank will be a great start and we are fully behind that idea."

Tax simplification
"In the Autumn Statement, George Osborne announced that small businesses would be able to prepare tax accounts on a cash basis. This basically means the business can add up what they have already been paid and take off what has been spent in cash, rather than having to worry about adjusting figures for stock, outstanding invoices and upcoming bills. This is good because it will make small businesses a lot simpler to operate, especially sole traders, saving time and the money currently spent on accountants. However, it is scheduled to come in next year and we think the government needs to take time to implement it so that it can have a positive impact on as many businesses as possible. We also feel it should be extended to start-ups, regardless of turnover."

Real-time information (RTI) reporting
"Most employers will be legally required to report payroll information in real time from April 2013 with all employers doing so before October 2013. We did a snap poll among our members in October last year, which showed there was a lack of understanding and awareness of RTI among small businesses. This was extremely worrying and clearly there is a need for government to make businesses aware not just of what RTI is but also when they will be obligated to switch. There is also the fact that the government is assuming businesses are all online and able to provide this information online – that may not be the case."

Pensions auto enrolment
"This has been deferred for small businesses until 2015, so there is longer to prepare, but there is still the cost and burden of implementation that is a massive concern. We need to ensure small businesses are educated by the government in what they need to do, as there simply is not enough information out there. Also, there is not enough detail out there about how all this will be paid for, and what fines will be in place if it is not done."

Confidence to employ
"Unemployment fell last month, which we welcomed, but we are pushing for the national insurance ‘holiday’ to be extended and expanded. Under this scheme, for a limited period and subject to meeting certain conditions, new businesses may qualify for a deduction of up to £5,000 from the employer NICs that would normally be due, for each of the first 10 employees they take on. At present, London and the South East are excluded from this arrangement, but we would like to see them included.

Also, only 16,000 businesses have taken up the offer so far, so clearly there is not enough awareness of the scheme out there.

From the frontline As to what the micro-businesses themselves think their biggest challenges are, Bobb is right when he says it is a mixed bag. Some cite red tape as the barrier to further growth, others claim market conditions mean it is just too difficult to compete with larger companies that can benefit from economies of scale. Others, such as JML Print, a four-staff digital print house in Kent, face completely different challenges.

"For us, the biggest problem is getting the work in through the door as we just can’t spare the staff to go out and sell," says JML production manager Adam Jones. "We don’t have the workload at present to justify a full-time sales person."

At Henningham Family Press, which employs two staff, the issues are of a more administrative nature. "Filing tax is ridiculously time-consuming despite having an accountant," says owner David Henningham. "Also, VAT should be abolished so there is no cliff between domestic and business clients."

Evidence of the impact these varying issues can have comes from a recent BAPC survey of its members. Around 59.1% of respondents to the survey were businesses of 10 staff or fewer, and the information they reported was not encouraging: over the past 12 months, 27.3% reported a drop in turnover, 26.1% a drop in profits and 21.7% said their relationship with suppliers had deteriorated.

The comforting thing for micro-businesses is that even the largest print businesses would report similar figures, so they are not alone. And, while those bigger firms may admittedly have more resources to cope with those pressures, small businesses are arguably more flexible and also more adept at acting quickly and dealing with these issues than the larger companies.

Indeed, as our client insight feature on p18 shows, there are many advantages to being a micro-business, including the fact that some clients prefer working with a smaller operation. Yes, there are many challenges, but as this feature shows there are ways of addressing these issues and, with a more united voice, micro-businesses can begin to overcome them.

It is important they do, as print is built on the tireless work of micro-businesses and for the benefit of the sector as a whole we need to make sure these companies have the best chance of not just surviving, but of expanding and being as profitable as possible.