Hiring professional advisers to help a business has overwhelmingly positive effects, according to research.

Opinium polled 504 small business owners on behalf of Direct Line for Business and found that 95% were pleased with their decision to seek expert advice.

Almost three in four (74%) SME owners claimed the advice they received made their business more professional.

Two-thirds (66%) of respondents said the move improved their business's infrastructure, while 65% reported increased revenue streams.

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation said:

"Businesses that access advice often grow faster than firms that don't."

However, 22% of those polled preferred to wait for a crisis to hit before bringing in experts, such as an accountant, lawyer, IT or web specialist.

Karneet Chowdhury, business manager at Direct Line for Business, added:

"While cost control is vital for small businesses, sometimes the do-it-yourself approach may cause more problems.

"Fines for non-compliance with regulation or law could be substantially higher than the cost of an adviser.

"Clearly bringing in expert advice at the correct time makes economic sense and instils good practice within an organisation."

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