{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Cashflow Show: Entrepreneurship Insights for Founders, CEOs and Business Leaders","title":"UK Small Businesses as Silent Shock Absorbers | Julie Fisher, UK CEO of Simply Business","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":701,"description":"Episode Summary\nIn this episode of The Cashflow Show, host Clayton M Coke speaks with Julie Fisher, UK CEO of Simply Business. They discuss how UK small businesses are absorbing rising costs to protect consumers, the impact on margins and mental health, the administrative burden facing SMEs, and the specific tax relief measures that could unlock growth, hiring and innovation.\nChapters\n00:00 – Introduction and welcome\n00:27 – About Simply Business\n00:57 – Small businesses as economic shock absorbers\n01:26 – Rising costs and squeezed margins\n01:52 – Impact on mental health and long-term planning\n02:48 – Increasing intensity and admin burden\n03:45 – Resilience and optimism among SMEs\n04:41 – What relief would make the biggest difference\n05:31 – Potential for expansion and job creation\n05:59 – SMEs and private sector employment\n07:27 – Supporting the passion of small business owners\n08:26 – How Simply Business supports SMEs\n09:45 – Message for the Spring Statement\n11:12 – Where to find more information \nKey Discussion Points\n82% of small business owners have seen costs surge in the last 12 months \nOnly 12% have raised prices in line with those costs \nNearly half report financial pressures impacting their mental health \n65% say frequent policy changes hinder long-term planning \nAlmost 400,000 businesses could be forced to close without improvement \nReducing corporation tax and raising VAT thresholds would have the biggest impact \n26% of SMEs are ready to expand and almost one in five ready to hire if conditions improve \nSMEs employ around 17 million people (60% of private sector jobs) \nSmall businesses account for 94% of all R&D tax credit claims\nKey Takeaways\nSmall businesses are protecting consumers by absorbing cost increases at the expense of their own margins \nAdministrative and fiscal burdens are adding significant pressure \nTargeted tax relief could unlock expansion, hiring and economic growth \nDespite the challenges, the majority of small business owners...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/5TDQUThJM60yAtjdMtHop6E3IULiY5PXxdvmQ0Ytl6Q/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83ZWMx/YzQ2ZjFmMWEyNTUy/NTMyYWFjZWI2ZWM0/MzIwZC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}