Three quarters (76%) of mid-sized businesses plan to make changes to their business operations based on their experiences from 2021, according to new research from MYOB, with investments in technology (37%), more full-time staff (35%), and marketing and advertising (28%),

The 2022 Mid-market Snapshot indicates many are feeling hopeful about the year ahead and primed for growth, with 82% having more sales or work in the pipeline for the first quarter of this year, in comparison with this time last year, and 38% claim they have ‘a lot more work’ coming their way. 

When asked about how they’re feeling about 2022, the top three responses were hopeful (29%), excited (28%) and confident (20%).  

MYOB general manager for enterprise, Kim Clarke said that for the mid-market, 2022 is all about taking things up a notch.  

“Considering the significant challenges they faced, we’ve seen from a range of our market insights that 2021 was a good year for many medium sized businesses. Now, with a strong picture of what headwinds they’ll likely face over the next 12 months, their focus is on fulfilling the growth potential of their business,” she said.

“Mid-market businesses often benefit from both experience and infrastructure to help realise their ambitions. They know what they need to do to take their business to new heights, and those that act now will be more adaptable and resilient to any future trials – as well as a step ahead of the competition.”

Increasing revenue was the top goal for most mid-sized businesses (37%), closely followed by bolder ambitions including expanding their presence in local markets (35%) and focusing on direct avenues to grow revenue, such as securing more new customers (33%).  

“When it comes to growing a business, there’s no better place to start than by capitalising on the opportunities available on home turf – whether that’s new audiences, new markets or even branching into new offerings,” Clarke said.

Despite overall confidence and ambitions around growth, 2022 won’t be without any obstacles. More than one-third (37%) of respondents said a shortage of employees would be their biggest challenge, closely followed by the risk of business disruption due to COVID-19 (36%), and maintaining a steady revenue (35%).  

Businesses in the manufacturing and wholesale industry had the highest proportion of respondents concerned about a shortage of skilled employees (45%), as well as disruption of supplies of goods from overseas (also 45%), while retail businesses were more concerned about maintaining a steady revenue (50%).