Are Small Business Owners Taking On Too Much? [INFOGRAPHIC]

The “can-do” attitude that makes small business owners successful, could also be their Achilles’ heel, according to a Hiscox survey.

Our research found that despite 64% saying that legal issues should be handled by professionals, only 26% of small businesses actually employ full or part-time legal and/or accounting help. Passion drives entrepreneurs, pressure is part of the package 36% of the surveyed entrepreneurs reported that their passion gets them through tough times, while 40% believe pressure is what they signed up for. However, passion could be clouding entrepreneurs’ perceptions of when they need to employ outside help for specific tasks. A full 76% of small business owners surveyed said that either their skills gap is not a threat or that they are able to plug the gap with professional expertise when needed.

Knowledge gaps pose problems Small business owners admit that they lack knowledge in key areas, including legal (56%), taxes (36%), IT (34%) and insurance (31%). Despite the potential hazards of legal and financial errors, more business owners employ a full-time communications officer than an accountant or in-house legal counsel (8% and 5%, respectively). Only 7% of small business owners would opt for an accountant or lawyer if they could make another full-time hire.