SEB’s innovation studio SEBx works closely with Swedish solopreneurs and has recently asked a large number of them to participate in a survey about how they’re coping with the current crisis and what kind of support they could be looking for.
The survey, in which more than 400 solopreneurs across Sweden took part, paints a picture of Sweden’s one-person businesses as both pragmatic and resilient. While some 40% of the respondents say that they’re negatively affected by the current crisis or that the situation is critical, a majority still states that their finances haven’t yet been affected although many are worried. Asked where they would turn to get financial support or borrow money during a crisis, as many as eight out of ten say that they would primarily tap into their savings. A majority of the solopreneurs also states that none of the public support measures that have so far been presented have appealed to them. What’s more, some 60% of the survey respondents say that they ”usually manage to sort themselves out” in times of crises.
Something that many solopreneurs are asking for, however, is help to find new work. Others would welcome advice on how to cut costs and get in touch with solopreneurs in the same situation. SEBx is now taking action to try to support Swedish solopreneurs with these matters. SEB Group has gathered relevant information and advice aimed at the self-employed, other entrepreneurs, as well as private customers and households at seb.se, covering everything from bank loans and support measures to mortgages, amortisation holidays and savings.
SEBx, which is a part of SEB Group, is a strategic initiative focused on exploring new technologies and future customer offerings. SEBx is currently working on its first product – UNQUO – which is a digital service tailored for the solopreneurs: people running their own business without employees. You can read more about the product at unquo.com.
If you are a solopreneur and are looking for support from other one-person businesses and different experts, please join our solopreneur community “Soloprenörer och Covid 19-krisen” on Linkedin. To learn more about how SEBx works with solopreneurs, and to read the survey in full, please visit sebx.io