Small and micro businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy. They make up nearly a fifth of the UK economy and represent 95% of all businesses. But the digital revolution has changed things, and despite the small and micro-business dominance of the economy, when it comes to digital things are much different.

Do digital skills matter?

Digital marketing is now one of the most important tools for businesses, and its power is now just as strong as ‘traditional’ forms of marketing. Ultimately in an ever changing digital world, a lack of digital skills could be holding back as much as a fifth of the overall economy.

To understand the reasons better, 123 Reg, through our research partner ResearchNow, interviewed 1000 small to medium sized businesses with 779 out of 1000 being micro-businesses (0-9 employees). The research was telling, and showed that too many business owners lack the basic tools to grow their businesses and steal a march over larger and more established companies.

An overwhelming 86% said that they were at best ‘building experience,’ with half saying they have ‘not yet started.’ Bringing this together, 70% of micro-businesses thought digital knowledge to be critical to their future success, yet over 85% lack the skills.

But, what does a micro-businesses actually need and where can they find the time to concentrate on skills?

For all micro businesses, enhancing digital skills is vital. But, we fully understand that it isn’t easy for business owners. Micro-businesses, in particular, are time-poor and resource light and tend to wear multiple hats on a daily basis. We do not believe that micro-businesses need lengthy guides designed for larger businesses, more, they need a direct steer on the one or two things they should implement to help their businesses grow.

And that is exactly what we have created. We have built an Online Business Training platform, tailored for micro-businesses to learn key skills in bite-sized chunks.

Are you ready to discover the digital skills you need to grow your business? Then download our free whitepaper by clicking this link. Or you can view the whitepaper below.