UK votes to leave the EU: What small business owners think

The UK has voted to leave the European Union in an historic referendum. We ran a live blog through the night as the results were revealed and entrepreneurs shared their views. Here's some of their reaction. We'll continue to update this page with more comments.

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"We need a strong leader to get us through this, quickly, decisively, to return us to a strong position for small businesses to thrive. Boris and Farage are not the men for the job."
James Poyser, co-founder, inniAccounts

"I'm very happy with this result. Markets will be volatile for a while and will then revert to normal levels. The pound falling will be good for exports but buying goods will be temporarily more expensive. Theo Paphitis on ITV news was confident that trade will continue, business as usual."
Neil Westwood, co-founder, Magic Whiteboard

"We have no choice but to work a lot harder and produce more value if we all want to stay in business on the global stage. But luckily stoicism is one thing we're famous for. Let's hope we haven't forgotten how to do it."
Quentin Pain, founder, Legendary Business Owners

"I'm delighted that UK voters have chosen opportunity over fear. Today marks the launch of UK plc: we are the fifth largest economy in the world and we can now hone our competitive edge free from the restrictions of Brussels. Anyone who has launched their own business recognises the anxiety and uncertainty of going it alone and the current reaction of the markets is reflecting this. I'm disappointed that David Cameron has chosen to step down instead of providing leadership through the next turbulent few months. However, whoever turns out to be the next PM, the UK is a country of entrepreneurs and we have the expertise and clout to make sure this decision marks the start of a new era of growth and prosperity for UK citizens and businesses."_
Frances Dickens, CEO, Astus Group_

"How will I get around the pound plummeting, a two year period of uncertainty whilst exit terms are negotiated, falling house prices, a drop in consumer confidence, and a possibility of import and export duties?"
Claire Burrows, Air and Grace

"Raising early stage funding in the lead up to the referendum has been tough as investors have been very cautious due to the uncertainty and this just gets worse. Recruiting international talent is already harder than it should be and by leaving the EU we're taking a further step back. Start-ups already felt the pressure to take their business to the states and raise money across the pond in order to scale their business. I believe this will now happen earlier and many start-ups will move out of the UK."
Nelson Sivalingam, founder, Wonderush.com

"The UK will have to work harder to maintain our obvious position as the technology hub in Europe. Many of our most skilled workers in the tech scene come from Europe and, as it becomes more difficult to attract this talent, we run the risk of losing our competitive edge as a nation with one of the best start-up ecosystems in the world. We are also concerned about the implication for scientific research as the UK was clearly a net beneficiary from this investment. How Britain and the rest of Europe responds will be interesting to see."
Tom Marsden, CEO, Saberr

"Britain is a great entrepreneurial nation that has always been prepared to take risks for its long term future. There is no better country in which to start a business, and that's as true today as it was yesterday, and it will be even more true tomorrow. The world's entrepreneurs have always been welcome in the UK and our expectation is that, far from diminishing that welcome, this result will prove to be a fantastic boon for it."
Matt Smith, director, StartUp Britain and Centre for Entrepreneurs

"The UK's decision to leave the EU brings a range of risks that are particularly enhanced for small businesses that don't have the same buffers and mitigation systems in place as larger businesses. The main challenge for a business like ours, that is small yet trading at an international level, is the potential re-introduction of import tax duties and unstable EUR/GBP exchange rates. Being a part of the EU meant that British businesses could compete on a level playing field with EU businesses and create value for the UK, whist getting the best deals by potentially sourcing products (tree sap for example, which is the basis of our products) from anywhere in the EU."
Clara Vaisse, founder, Sibberi

See all our EU referendum coverage here .