A NEW survey has revealed that leaders of small businesses in Yorkshire are just as likely to seek business advice from family and friends as they are from professionals.

The research found an equal amount of decision makers in Yorkshire’s small businesses (56 per cent) have approached someone in their personal life as well as professionals outside of their close circle for business advice.

However, 43 per cent of business leaders in Yorkshire said they are most likely to trust guidance from a professional above other sources of advice.

The research carried out for Growth Vouchers, a Government programme that helps businesses towards the cost of professional advice in areas including finance and cash flow, management skills and sales & marketing.

The survey found 68 per cent of small business leaders said they would gain from some form of professional advice, with making the most of digital technology reported as the area that most businesses think they would benefit from support in (37 per cent). This is closely followed by sales and marketing, which 32 per cent of business leaders said they would benefit from advice on.

Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "Expert business advice is incredibly important for many of the UK’s smaller firms and helps make sure they reach their potential.

"We know professional advice can be costly and that there is a lot of choice out there, so we are simplifying the Government’s businesses support schemes to make it easier to find and access the right support at the right time."