SME owners work hard, but love what they do

SME owners love what they do, despite the increasingly long working hours they have to put in, a new study of more than 200 Australian SME owners has found.

Close to 70% of SME owners say they love running their own business, according to the survey by accounting firm RSM Bird Cameron.

And it’s just as well – almost a third of SME owners put in more than 50 hours per week at work, up from 25% in 2005.

The long hours may have come as a surprise to some SME owners, the survey suggests. Asked what motivated them to start their own business, 56% say it was to achieve work-life balance, ahead of earning a living or the most popular motivator in 2005, creating wealth.

But for most SME owners, the chief reason for starting their own business was to be their own boss, with 60% site it as their chief motivating factor.