Issue #105 - The Bionic Business Report 🦾
The biggest business challenges of 2025 | Sustainability and energy savings tips for businesses | Do you need a business energy audit? | 3 Businesses, 1 Question | Words | Tunes | More
What are the biggest business challenges of 2025 🧗♀️
Welcome to Issue #105 of The Backbone. The free fortnightly newsletter from Bionic
Running a small business in 2024 wasn’t easy. Rising costs, hiring struggles, and a squeeze on consumer spending made trading tough for business owners across the UK. All sorts of measures were taken to stay afloat, from price hikes to cutting costs wherever possible, while some small business owners even dipped into their personal savings.
But what does 2025 have in store? We surveyed 500 small business owners across the UK to understand some of their biggest struggles in 2024 and find out what challenges they expect to face across the coming months.
Here are some of the key findings:
29% of the business owners said the rising cost of energy was their biggest financial challenge in 2024
20% of small business owners think they might have to shut down and cease trading in the next year
Over half of small business owners have struggled with late invoices or overdue payments in the past year
81% of business owners felt some level of exhaustion in the past year and half are burnt out
More than half of business owners (54%) say they’ve slightly deprioritised green practices
82% of business owners struggled with hiring and retention in 2024
74% of business owners are planning to introduce AI-driven processes in 2025
More than half of businesses (53%) have increased their cybersecurity spending in 2024
We’ve pulled together all the main talking points and put them into this easy-to-read infographic. But the real details are in our full report. We’ll have details on how to download the report in our next issue (so make sure you’re subscribed for that!)
🤝 COMMUNITY
Join our community of small business superheroes 🦸♀️
Small business owners are the superheroes of the high street. But small business owners rarely get their voices heard. Now there’s a place to chat, share advice and help each other through the lows and highs of running a business. To get involved, scan or click the QR code above or click the button below to sign up.
🗞 READ
Sustainability and energy savings tips for businesses 🍃
Do you know the difference between sustainability and energy efficiency? How about between carbon neutral and net zero? Our guide explains all this and more, along with some practical sustainability tips and ways to make your business more energy efficient.
How a business energy audit can save you money 📝
If you’re a business owner, simply keeping afloat can be tough as the price of everything is rising and government decisions seem to be going against you. If you’re looking for ways to save on energy bills, you might benefit from carrying out an energy audit.
Inspecting your energy processes and procedures can help you make smarter choices. But what is an energy audit, and how can it lower your overall consumption? Read more below.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#BionicBusinessStory - 3 businesses, 1 question 🤔
We asked three more business owners about their biggest challenges in the year ahead. Here’s what they said…
Bionic - What do you see as your biggest challenges in 2025?
🍧 “My biggest challenges are definitely surrounding the continuously rising costs. As a small seasonal business, I have a limited window to make money each year. Wage increases, stock increases, and rising energy costs have a huge impact on me. I'm also faced with a second year of major road closures in my town due to flood defence works, which are having a detrimental effect on visitor numbers.” Corrie Hill - Mrs Chill’s Ice Cream Parlour
☕ ”To be brutally honest our biggest challenge/concern and worries are the uncertainty in the market with the implications and impact from a new government, hopefully the markets will settle, not just in the Uk but globally and that global conflicts which are having a massive impact on business and people come to an end.” Mark Hepworth - The Flat Cap Coffee Roasting Company
🍻 “The current state of affairs is a big one. Pubs are struggling at the minute, but when we hear about them struggling in the news, it's not really pubs like ours. It's chains, and actually they're doing fine. Because we're independent, we have no support network. It’s just Will and myself! We’ve put together our years of experience and the connections we’ve made ourselves, but it’s just the two of us and we don't come from business backgrounds. "We just kind of got lucky and managed make this thing work.” Paul McAleer - The Old Justice Pub
📊 BUSINESS
Get your business costs sorted 💷
Bionic is the comparison site for your small business. We compare a range of business essentials to help you save time, money, and hassle.
Our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms and help you find the best deal on business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance. No jargon. No-fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
🎧 LISTEN
Playlist 🎶
In need of some new sounds? The Future Yard Wrapped 2025 has all the best new songs from some of the best bands you might never have heard of, from self-appointed “Dad band from Oxford” The Young Knives to the underground punk power of Loose Articles, via the dreamy psych-rock of The Fernweh. Before you know it, you’ll be reeling off names like Dog Race and Freak Slug like some late night 6 Music DJ.
Podcast 🎙
You may have heard the name Gary Stevenson mentioned quite a bit over the last few weeks - he’s a former city banker who made millions of pounds betting that inequality would destroy our economy. And he’s now doing the rounds campaigning on that very issue. We don’t want to say we’re ahead of the curve here at The Backbone, but we recommended Gary’s YouTube channel back in Issue #29! And now we’re recommending the podcast of that YouTube channel - the last episode (below) is an eye-opening account of how the current situation has been building up for decades. It’s pretty bleak but essential listening.
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🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
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