1. Remote Working and SMEs:
A study into the working preferences of small
businesses in North America

2. Foreword
Hello!
Welcome to 'Remote Working and SME's: A Study into the Working Preferences of Small Businesses in
North America'.
When we recently surveyed 275 small businesses across North America, we asked them in-depth questions
about their preferred working habits. Here are just a few of the interesting facts we discovered:
The majority of small businesses in North America work remotely on a regular basis
Many believe that working in this way improves quality-of-life
Most participants would rather work from home when working on creative tasks
Plus, we also got an insight into what SMEs believe would improve remote working models.
Here we take a closer look at how the working preferences of SMEs and how these habits impact their
business. We think you'll find the results interesting...
Stefanie Neyland
Copywriting and Communications Manager

3. Overview
81% of small businesses work remotely.
81 per cent of small businesses
surveyed either work remotely, or
employ others who work remotely
19 per cent of small businesses
surveyed don't work remotely
Number of SME's That Work Remotely

4. Remote working
93% of small businesses work remotely at least
once per week
Number of Days Per Week Spent Working Remotely
38 per cent of businesses surveyed
work remotely all the time
14 per cent of businesses surveyed
work remotely 3 – 4 times per week
30 per cent of businesses surveyed
work remotely 1 – 2 times per week
7 per cent of businesses surveyed
never work remotely

5. Productivity
56% of small businesses think remote working
increases productivity.
56 per cent of small businesses
believe remote working increases
productivity
24 per cent don't believe remote
working increases productivity
20 per cent aren't sure whether it
does or not
Percentage of businesses that think working remotely increases
productivity

6. Quality of Life
88% of small businesses think remote working
improves quality of life.
Number of SME's That Believe Working Remotely Improves Quality of Life
88 per cent of businesses surveyed
think working remotely improves
quality of life
12 per cent of those surveyed don't
believe it does

7. Preferences
53% of small businesses prefer working from
home.
Percentage of SME's That Prefer Working From Home
53 per cent of businesses surveyed
prefer working from home
39 per cent of businesses surveyed
prefer working at an office
8 per cent prefer working elsewhere
(coffee shops, outdoors, etc.)

8. Creativity
60% of small businesses prefer working from home
when working on on creative tasks.
60 per cent of businesses surveyed
prefer working on creative tasks at
home.
25 per cent prefer working on
creative tasks in an office
environment.
15 per cent prefer working elsewhere
(such as a coffee shop, outdoors,
etc.)
Where businesses prefer to work on creative tasks

9. Logical Tasks
44% of small businesses would rather work at an
office when doing logical or repetitive tasks.
44 per cent of small businesses
prefer working on logical tasks in an
office environment.
49 per cent prefer working on logical
or repetitive tasks at home.
7 per cent prefer working elsewhere
(such as a coffee shop, outdoors,
etc.)
Where businesses prefer to work on logical tasks

10. Advantages
71% of small businesses think the best thing about
working remotely is the savings they make.
Less stress
Improves well being
Helps achieve work-life balance
Improves productivity
Saves on costs
Increases efficiency
Helps with employee retention
50% 60% 70% 80%
*Participantswereabletoselectmorethanoneoption,so
percentagesmayadduptomorethan100%
The advantages of working remotely for small businesses surveyed:

11. Disadvantages
56% of small businesses think the lack of team spirit
is the biggest disadvantage of working remotely.
Trust and accountability
Security
Lack of team spirit
Equipment
30% 40% 50% 60%
The disadvantages of working remotely for small businesses surveyed:
*Participantswereabletoselectmorethanoneoption,so
percentagesmayadduptomorethan100%

12. Improvements
Small businesses believe a daily or weekly progress report
and a weekly face-to-face meeting would help remote
business models.
Daily update call
Daily or weekly progress report
Weekly face-to-face meeting
Monthly face-to-face meeting
Weekly team conference
call
Regular team face-to-face meeting
20% 30% 40% 50%
The most effective measures small businesses feel would improve remote business models:

13. Summary
Key findings:
1. A majority of North American small businesses work
remotely.
2. They believe working remotely improves quality of life.
3. They miss the sense of team spirit that working in an
office brings.

14. About BizLaunch
Over the past eight years we've become North America's most trusted small business
advisors. We've worked with Fortune 500 companies to improve their brand presence with
over 100,000 entrepreneurs by providing high quality webinars, seminars, marketing content
and training.
We understand entrepreneurs because we are entrepreneurs. Bizlaunch Founder & CEO,
Andrew Patricio, has started seven businesses, authored two books, and is an internationally
recognized small business expert who has delivered over 100 key note speeches across the
globe.
But our small business expertise doesn't end there. Everyone from our content developers to
our presenters know what it’s like to start, run and grow a business—because they've done it
themselves.