07/06/2021 - Under-romanced, under-holidayed and underslept: Xero survey uncovers the emotional impacts of running a small business

MEDIA RELEASE

Under-romanced,under-holidayed and underslept: Xero survey uncovers

the emotional impacts of running a small business

Survey released as Xero launches its 'Emotional Tax Return' competition in which small businesses can claim an emotional expense of running a business for a chance to win

Melbourne - 7 June, 2021 -Xero, the global small business platform, today released a new survey uncovering some of the unwelcome consequences of running a small business, with the majority of small business leaders (81%) saying it's taking away from their personal lives.

Conducted by Lonergan Research on behalf of Xero, the survey of more than 500 Australian small business owners and managers, employing fewer than 20 employees, uncovered a range of key areas driving this emotional cost. Unsurprisingly, the survey found that almost seven in 10 (68%) people running a small business say the past 12 months have been more emotionally draining than any other year they've been in business.

The survey found many people running small businesses are under-romanced, with 39% of singles unable to remember the last time they went on a date. They're also generally under-holidayed, with more than half (53%) of respondents sacrificing a family holiday for their business. A lack of sleep is also common, with small business leaders collectively missing out on more than eight million hours of sleep each week due to the demands of running their business.

In response to the survey findings, Xero has launched its Emotional Tax Return competition today in which Australian small businesses can submit a claim for an emotional expense of running their business for a chance to win.

Trent Innes, Managing Director of Xero Australia and Asia, said: "Running a business can be a highly rewarding experience but it's likely to have its challenges. It's ofen a juggling act and can lead to missing out on some of the funner things in life. And that's only been heightened afer a particularly challenging year. The research has really shone a light on some of the hidden emotional costs being felt by small business owners across the country.

"This year, we're aiming to make tax time better and give back to some small business owners across the country through our Emotional Tax Return competition, giving them a chance to make up for some of the things they might have missed while on the journey of running their business," said Innes.

While the emotional cost of running a business has been made clear, the majority of Australians running a small business (77%) say they wouldn't change it for the world, highlighting the small business community's passion for what they do.

Australians running a small business are foregoing love for passion

Romance is taking a back-seat to the pressures of running a small business, with a quarter (25%) of small business owners and managers in relationships unable to remember the last time they had a date or date night. Additionally, almost half (49%) have sacrificed an anniversary or date night for their business.

However, two in five (39%) single small business owners are missing their chance at finding love as they're unable to remember the last time they had a date at all.

The hidden financial cost of missing family activities

More than half (53%) of respondents have missed holidays, while a further (56%) have missed family activities due to the demands of running a business. This is underpinned by respondents claiming they lose 15 hours a week that could be spent with their family, social life or hobbies, or a total of 32.5 days each year.

Apologising for missing those family events and activities is costing small business owners and managers more than $470 million on 'sorry' gifs each year for their parents, partners and children, highlighting the hidden financial costs in addition to the emotional costs of running a business.

Side efects may include sleeplessness, hair loss and decreased libido

Nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents have experienced symptoms of stress because of their business, with one of the leading symptoms including sleeplessness (45%) and a further 45% being unable to remember the last time they had a sleep in.

Nationally, those running a small business are losing over eight million hours a week of sleep due to the demands of running their business, while the stress has caused just under a third (29%) of respondents to experience hair loss or greying.

A further three in five (61%) claim that running their business has impacted their sex life, with nearly a quarter (23%) sufering from decreased libido.

Shaking up tax time by allowing Aussies to claim the emotional expenses of running a small business

Launched today, the Emotional Tax Return competition connects to Xero's new 'Business, but better' campaign which helps small businesses to do beautiful business this end of financial year. The competition is open to small business owners across the country, who have an annual turnover of less than $10 million and have fewer than 20 employees. They can enter the competition by heading to xero.com/emotionaltaxreturn, and submitting a response to the following question "In 75 words or less, describe an emotional expense related to running your small business, telling us what you would like to claim and why.*

Supporting the launch of the competition is Australian TV personality, comedian and champion of small business, Sam Mac.

"One of the best parts of my job is that it takes me all over the country and presents an opportunity to meet small business owners from so many diferent industries. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the way they've adjusted their businesses and shown remarkable resilience in the face of these particularly challenging times," said Mac.

ENDS

*Terms and conditions apply. A total prize pool of up to $50,000 is available to be won by small business owners. Visit xero.com/emotionaltaxreturnfor more information.

Media Contact

Xero Australia

Jessica Brophy

[phone] [e-mail]

About Xero's survey

The survey was commissioned by Xero Australia and undertaken by Lonergan Research to uncover the emotional costs of running a small business. In May 2021, Lonergan Research conducted an online quantitative survey, interviewing more than 500 sole traders and small businesses owners/managers with fewer than 20 employees. The Australian survey is nationally representative.

About the Emotional Tax Return competition

Xero's Emotional Tax Return is a competition that allows small business owners to submit a claim for some of the more unwelcome consequences of running their business this EOFY. Xero invites small business owners from across the country to submit their entry via xero.com/emotionaltaxreturn, to be in the running to win up to $50,000 in prizes. All claims will be reviewed by a panel of judges, with the most creative and original responses to win a variety of prizes in accordance with the terms and conditions.

About Xero

Xerois a cloud-based accounting sofware platform for small businesses with over 2.7 million subscribers globally. Through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data any time, anywhere and on any device. Xero ofers an ecosystem of over 1,000 third-party apps and 300 plus connections to banks and other financial partners. In 2020 and 2021, Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and in 2020, Xero was recognised by IDC MarketScapeas a leader in its worldwide SaaS and cloud-enabled small business finance and accounting applications vendor assessment.