As the business landscape evolves, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of great opportunity for some and challenge for others. Leaders across industries are navigating an environment marked by rapid technological innovation, shifting economic dynamics, and heightened sustainability and social responsibility expectations.
To shed light on the priorities and concerns that will define the year ahead, we’ve gathered insights from a diverse group of business leaders from a range of industries across the UK and US to bring together the 14 most pressing issues they’re grappling with—from managing economic uncertainty and adapting to AI disruption.
Here’s what they said…
Balancing Sustainability with Affordability
“In the fashion industry, I’m worried about balancing sustainability with affordability in 2025 – just last season, eco-friendly material costs increased by 30%. To address this, we’re exploring innovative recycling technologies and local manufacturing partnerships that could help keep prices reasonable while maintaining our environmental standards. I’m also investing more in educating our customers about the true cost and value of sustainable fashion through transparent supply chain stories and behind-the-scenes content.”
Mats Stigzelius, Co-founder of Good Guys
Securing Access to Specialised Materials
“As 2024 closes, we have seen immense growth, but 2025 brings its own challenges. One of the main concerns for our business is securing consistent access to the specialized materials we rely on for products like gym flooring, horse stable matting, and kids’ play mats. The rise in demand for raw materials like rubber, PVC, and timber-coupled with global supply chain disruptions-has already led to significant delays and price hikes in recent years. According to industry reports, around 23% of construction professionals view material shortages as their top challenge. With materials such as rubber becoming increasingly scarce, these issues are likely to intensify, especially as demand in our niche markets for durable, high-performance flooring continues to grow.”
“To overcome these concerns, we are focusing on building stronger relationships with both local and international suppliers, exploring alternative materials where feasible, and securing long-term contracts that lock in prices. Additionally, we’re keeping an eye on the growing trend of sustainable materials, as eco-friendly options become increasingly important to our customers. Investing in sustainable alternatives not only addresses environmental concerns but also allows us to stay ahead of the curve as the industry shifts. Our goal is to remain adaptable-whether through innovation in product design or efficient inventory management, to ensure we continue delivering the high-quality solutions our customers rely on, even in the face of these challenges.”
Richard McKay, Chief Marketing Officer at Sprung Flooring
Navigating Environmental Regulations
“My biggest concern for 2025 is helping businesses navigate the upcoming environmental regulations without crushing their bottom line – I’ve seen small companies really struggle with compliance costs. We’re developing more affordable, scalable sustainability consulting packages that focus on practical, step-by-step improvements rather than overwhelming overhauls. From my experience working with various industries, I’ve learned that starting with small, manageable changes like energy efficiency audits or waste reduction programs often leads to better long-term success.”
Gus Bartholomew, Co-founder, Leafr
Addressing Economic Instability
“As the CEO of a digital marketing agency, my biggest concern for 2025 is navigating the economic instability and rising costs. Despite facing these problems, we are diversifying our services, investing in technology to be more efficient, and focusing on the general well-being of employees to keep productivity and morale high. Given this approach, flexibility and proactivity will let our potential challenges turn into opportunities for growth.”
James Owen, Co-Founder & Director, Click Intelligence
Maintaining Quality
“When I look ahead to the new year, my biggest concern for our company is the challenge of maintaining the quality of care at Abbeycare while we’re navigating growing economic pressures. The healthcare sector, particularly our speciality of addiction treatment, is facing an increase in demand while also dealing with the same challenges of rising costs and workforce shortages that many industries are facing in the year ahead.”
“My plan is to put our focus on operational efficiency. I also want us to invest in technology that helps us streamline processes. And I want to make sure that we’re fostering a supportive environment for our staff. I believe that with these steps we can continue to maintain high standards of care even in the challenging economic climate we’re facing in the coming year. We’ll continue adapting to the needs of our patients while working to ensure that our clinics remain accessible to those who need them most.”
Paul Bowley, CEO, Abbeycare Group
Mitigating Economic Uncertainty and Labor Shortages
“The biggest concerns for 2025 continue to be economic uncertainty and labor shortages. A potential slowdown could impact demand, especially for transportation services, with discretionary travel being the most affected. Consumers are likely to prioritize other expenses over travel. Similarly, labor shortages, particularly among skilled drivers, along with rising wages and increased competition for talent, pose significant risks. To address these challenges, I plan to optimize operations through technology automation and automatic scheduling to reduce costs and improve efficiency.”
Anam Barkan, CEO, HireGO Minibuses
Handling Complex Regulatory Changes
“The main thing on my mind for 2025 is how complex regulatory changes are becoming and how important transparency has become in financial services. With new rules emerging and clients demanding clearer operations, staying on top of these changes isn’t just important-it’s really important, especially in areas where sticking to the rules is what maintains client trust and our credibility. To address these challenges, I put a lot of effort into building stronger relationships with both clients and regulatory bodies. I need to keep my team trained and informed about new compliance issues so we can handle them correctly.”
“Plus, I prioritize clear communication with our clients. I make sure they understand what regulatory changes mean for them and what we are doing about it. Take the GDPR updates, for example; we didn’t just update our data management processes, but we also made sure our clients knew exactly what their new rights and responsibilities were. This forward-thinking technique cuts down on risks and keeps us known as a reliable partner.”
Paul Littler, Director of Business Development, WR Partners
Adapting to AI in SEO
“As someone managing a global SEO marketplace, I’m most concerned about AI completely reshaping how search engines work by 2025 – we saw this starting with Google’s helpful content updates. I’m navigating this by investing heavily in natural language processing tools and training our team to create more authentic, experience-based content that AI can’t easily replicate. We’re also building stronger relationships with our agency partners to better understand how their needs are evolving with these changes.”
Joe Davies, CEO, FATJOE
Managing Economic Unpredictability
“Coming up to 2025, as an insurance expert, my major concern is the increasing unpredictability of economic conditions, including inflation and its impact on businesses. Inflation does not just increase operating costs but also claims costs, which challenges the stability of insurance coverage for most businesses. To this, I will try to provide solutions specifically aimed at helping our businesses become better equipped at risk management, by being adequately covered without necessarily overexposing themselves in budgets. I also intend to add to this the education of clients on emerging risks such as cyber threats, which seem to be constantly evolving, and proactive risk management strategies to create resiliency against uncertainty.”
Eamonn Turley, Insurance Expert, Multi Quote Time
Retaining Talent
“Undoubtedly, hiring and retaining top talent is always a concern, especially as competition grows and remote work expands globally. Focus on building a strong company culture that makes people want to stay. Offer flexibility, invest in training and create clear paths for growth as it’s cheaper to retain great people than to constantly replace them.”
Tom Molnar, Operations Manager, Fit Design
Preparing for Economic Uncertainty
“Looking ahead to 2025, one of my main concerns is the uncertainty in the economy. With changing market conditions and supply chain challenges, staying flexible and prepared will be key. To manage this, I’ll focus on improving efficiency, exploring new revenue opportunities, and keeping a close eye on finances to stay resilient no matter what comes our way.”
“Another focus is embracing the ongoing changes in technology and the importance of cybersecurity. As the digital world evolves, it’s crucial to keep up and protect our business. I’ll invest in updating technology, improving digital tools, and making sure our team stays informed about security practices. Keeping these areas a priority will help us remain competitive and secure.”
Oliver Aleksejuk, Managing Director, Techcare
Addressing National Insurance Hikes
“Businesses have been hit hard by the latest budget in the UK – National Insurance hikes for employers are the most notable: currently, employers pay 13.8% on employees’ earnings above £175 per week, but this will rise to 15% from April 2025. This will add a squeeze to payroll and eat into cash flow, and with the current high interest rates, borrowing to grow is going to be more difficult too. 2025 looks to be a challenging year, but as business owners, we instinctively enjoy that challenge! Hopefully, we’ll see interest rates dropped by the BoE in early 2025 considering inflation is now more under control, and then businesses can look to flourish in the same way they did in the 2010s.”
Luther Yeates, Co-Founder, UK Expat Mortgage
Complying with Digital Marketing Rules
“In 2025, there may be more rules for digital marketing, especially about how we handle data privacy. To get ready, we are improving our processes to follow the rules and stay ahead of any legal changes. We work with legal experts and regulatory groups to ensure we are prepared for new requirements and set aside resources to improve our compliance. This will help us handle any new rules smoothly.”
Shane McEvoy, MD, Flycast Media
Navigating Expansion
“What worries me most about the future is how much work we still have to do to make sure that people in rural and underserved areas can get regular, easy-to-reach health care. To fix this, we are working hard to make mobile health clinics bigger. These clinics are meant to bring important medical care right to these places. These centers are ready to offer a lot of different services, from basic medical care to health checks. This means that people who live in more remote places don’t have to settle for less care. Because I’ve been to one of these clinics, I know how helpful they can be in filling in the gaps, especially in places where people don’t think their health care services give them enough attention.”
“Along with mobile clinics, we are also looking for ways to build a support network with other health care workers in the area. Giving these towns short-term care isn’t enough; they need to build connections and a long-term health care system they can count on. It has worked well for me in the past, and I plan to make these relationships even stronger going forward. Being able to get and keep health care for a long time is important.”
Maria Knobel, Medical Director, Medical Cert UK
