A survey of around 500 SME owners conducted for Suncorp found the majority of owners are prepared to play the long game in order to meet profitability goals and make a good living.

In fact, one quarter of those who had owned their business for three years or less received no income from the business in the past 12 months.

SMEs are often labelled the backbone of the Australian economy, contributing billions of dollars a year to gross domestic product and employing millions of people.

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison acknowledged the contribution of small business in the first few seconds of his recent Budget speech, telling Parliament small business owners “have gone without to keep their businesses open”.

“Small business owners are out there fighting for growth in their businesses every day. They deserve our respect and support,” he said.

The Suncorp SME vs Me Report found less than one in five SME owners who had been in business less than three years were confident about reaching 12-month goals.

However, one in three of these same business owners were confident they would achieve five-year goals, highlighting the longer term view that new businesses are taking.

Suncorp Head of Business Customers, John Debenham said SMEs who had been in business for more than 10 years and had between 20 and 199 employees were the most confident about meeting 12-month goals

However, Mr Debenham said SMEs with a tenure in business of between five and 10 years were the most optimistic about generating a profit in the current year and were also the most likely group of owners to have made a profit in the previous year.

“This same cohort are the most likely owners to be receiving payment or compensation for the time spent working on their business,” he said.

In fact, 99 percent of SME owners with 5-10 years’ in business received some form of payment for their efforts, compared with only 76 percent of those with less than three years’ tenure in business.

By the time an SME owner had been in business for more than 10 years, the proportion receiving compensation had actually fallen to 87 percent.

Mr Debenham said the findings identified a “sweet spot” of business tenure.

“It seems those SMEs with 5-10 years’ of trading are the most confident about making a profit and the most likely to get paid for their efforts,” he said.

“As the time in business continues beyond the 10-year mark, confidence about profitability and the likelihood of making a return is diminishing. It shows so we must not focus so much attention on encouraging and nurturing start-ups that we overlook those who have been running successful long-term businesses.

“Sound financial management, forward planning and adapting to change is something all business owners need to remember, regardless of how long they have been in operation.”