A survey of 500 SMEs across Australia conducted for Suncorp also found that finding new customers was the biggest challenge they faced regardless of how long they had been in business.

The Suncorp SME vs Me Report provides a valuable insight into the key challenges facing business ranging from sole traders to companies with up to 199 employees.

It shows 10 percent of SME owners cite not knowing where to start as the biggest obstacle to setting aside time for business development while 17 percent list this as one of the obstacles they face.

One third of SMEs claim there is not enough time in the day to work on developing their business while a similar proportion also cite not having anyone else to help as an obstacle to getting ahead.

“Not surprisingly, time is the biggest obstacle for sole traders while meeting customer expectations is the biggest obstacle for small SMEs with up to 19 employees,” said Mr Debenham, Suncorp Head of Business Customers.

“The good news is there are many avenues available for SMEs to get outside assistance with business growth, including accountants, business advisers, marketing consultants and business coaches,” Mr Debenham said.

The Suncorp SME vs Me Report also looked at the top challenges facing SMEs according to how long they had been in business.

“Finding new customers or clients is at the top of everyone’s list but was particularly significant for businesses with less than three years of operations – cited as the biggest challenge by 41 percent of survey respondents,” said Mr Debenham.

Other challenges listed by SMEs with this tenure include maintaining adequate cash flow (32 percent), competition from big business (30 percent) and lack of time (25 percent). Cash flow was also included as a top four challenge by businesses of all tenures (26 percent).

Red tape is another challenge facing many business owners with a total of 21 percent saying they struggle to meet legal and regulatory requirements.

Other challenges raised by SMEs included keeping up with technology, finding and retaining staff, being overloaded in the role, competition from overseas businesses, paying competitive salaries and having an insufficient marketing budget.

“Most of these obstacles are just part of the journey for SME owners and fortunately help is at hand for those who are serious about overcoming the challenges to business growth,” said Mr Debenham.