We love the lightbulb moment, but ask business owners what has tested them most, and the idea itself is rarely the answer. The real challenge begins when it starts working. The latest findings from the shortlist of The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards show what that looks like.
Growth swaps problems, it doesn't remove them
Of the 739 business owners surveyed, 45% mentioned scaling, operational capacity or the systems needed to support growth. The same share mentioned finance or cashflow, and 35% talked about hiring, retaining or leading people. Overall, more than two-thirds named at least one of those three tests.
The challenge also changes as a business grows. For those yet to start trading, finance and credibility come first. For those turning over more than £5 million, it’s more about managing what they’ve already built. More customers need more people, more working capital and more reliable systems, often all at the same time.
Luke Veale, Senior Manager – Central Relationship Team at Allica Bank, says:
“This is something we hear regularly from the founders we work with: business is booming, but growth rarely happens in a neat, straight line. A big order can land, but the cash to fulfil it isn’t there yet. They’re growing exactly as planned, but it ends up giving them a new challenge to overcome.”
Doing everything yourself has a ceiling
For some business owners, the pressure came from carrying every job personally. “The hard part has been doing everything at once,” said one. In the early days there’s often no choice, but a temporary fix can easily become the way the business always runs.
That’s why delegation came up so often. One in four wished they’d delegated, asked for help or built the right team sooner. The owner’s job slowly shifts from producing the best work to creating the conditions for others to do it, which takes trust, good systems and accepting that leading isn’t the same as controlling. What works with five employees and a handful of customers won’t always work with 50 people and a national client base.
Nearly one in five spoke about exhaustion, workload, loneliness or wellbeing, and the real number is probably higher. One business owner saw their turnover fall by several million pounds during the pandemic and had to let go of part of a team they’d spent years building. They called it the hardest part of the whole journey.
What business owners need
The message is clear. Business owners don’t just need encouragement to grow. They need finance that reflects the timing and cost of growth, advisers who understand the move from founder-led to management-led, and relationships that let them talk about problems before they become crises.
Resilience isn’t about carrying an ever-growing burden on your own. It’s about building a business where the load is shared, the systems around you are strong, and you’re not the only thing holding it all together.
Note: This blog brings together insights from the Great British Entrepreneur Awards’ 2026 shortlist survey. At Allica, we’re proud to be the awards’ headline sponsor for the fourth year running, celebrating the people, ideas and ambition behind Britain’s brilliant businesses.
