UK entrepreneurs are being encouraged to share pictures and videos of the realities they face as business owners, to raise awareness of the true experiences of running a small business.

Following the rise in popularity of ‘expectations versus reality’ social media hashtags which have been used 255,000 times on Instagram and received 1.1 billion views on TikTok, The Accountancy Partnership is challenging SME-owners to join in and share their experiences of being an entrepreneur.

The online accounting firm is on a mission to share the realities of entrepreneurs’ daily tasks to raise awareness of the unique roles they have and bring a true reflection of business to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Recent research into the topic found that almost a quarter (24%) of small business owners felt that social media has glamourised expectations of being a business owner. The same study also found more than half (52%) of entrepreneurs found running a business more challenging than expected.

Lee Murphy, managing director at The Accountancy Partnership, said: “It’s no secret that being your own boss and running a business can be difficult. However, we want to look behind the curtain to show aspiring and current business owners that the job is enjoyable and varied. While what we share on social media may often be a glamourised version of events, encouraging people to share their realities can help break the taboo of what life as an entrepreneur might really be like.”

The survey of 235 small business owners found that one in five (19%) of SME-owners enjoy sharing their updates and experiences on social media, with 16% citing social media as a source of inspiration for them.

Lee continued: “While economic conditions are currently tough, positives can be found in sharing experiences and engaging with others in similar situations online. So far, we have had people sharing tales of having to build their own desk before they could work at it and pets invading Zoom calls, to outstanding achievements and award wins.”

The expectations versus reality campaign aims to highlight the true face of starting and running a business in the UK at a time when record business insolvencies are occurring. As a reward, business owners that take part in the initiative and share a picture of their SME reality via the hashtag #MyBusinessReality and tagging The Accountancy Partnership on Twitter – @AccountancyPart – Instagram – @theaccountancypartnership – or LinkedIn – @The Accountancy Partnership – will have the chance to win a Lenovo Chromebook. The competition ends at 11.59pm on 12 September 2022.