A third of those who own their own small business have sought financial help from their parents to ensure that their companies survive the pandemic, according to a new survey.

This survey was carried out by Liberis, and it revealed that families are a more popular choice than banks among small business owners when it comes to securing financial help. The results show that 46% of these business owners will ask their families for support to get them through a crisis period, while only 40% would look to a bank for loan funding.

While business owners may be hesitant to seek bank loans, accountants in Goole or anywhere else can help them prepare the financial information they will need to boost their chances.

Around a third of them – 35% in total – indicated that it would be their parents that they would ask for this help. One out of every five of the small business owners surveyed by Liberis – adding up to 19% – stated it would be their friends they would seek support from. Furthermore, over one third of the 500 business owners that took part stated they had been required to take on additional work alongside running their companies to keep them solvent.

Speaking to Small Business, the Liberis CEO, Rob Straathof, said:

“While government-backed programmes provided a much-needed stopgap, many SMEs are still turning to family, friends and second jobs to get them through.”

Straathof went on to add that more help was needed for these companies.