A recent survey by private equity firm Idinvest showed that the UK is a “start-up nation”, with more than half (53 per cent) of people showing an interest in launching their own firm. It also concluded that the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union has not dented the country’s “entrepreneurial spirit”.
Another piece of research has looked into what it is that Brits enjoy so much about owning a business and being their own boss.
Property lettings agent City Breaks in Newcastle conducted a survey of 1,000 owners of small and medium-sized enterprises aged 18 to 44 to find out what they love about having their own company.
More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of all respondents said the biggest perk was being their own boss, while 64 per cent enjoyed having flexible hours. Four out of ten (40 per cent) appreciated having the final say in business decisions, while a quarter (25 per cent) enjoyed the process of putting a team together.
Separated by gender, the results showed that men and women were equally positive about being their own boss, while men attached more value to flexible hours (65 per cent) and having the final say (49 per cent) than women (61 per cent and 27 per cent respectively).
Pretty much all 18 to 24 year-olds (99 per cent) said being their own boss was the best thing about running a company, a significantly higher proportion than the 25 to 34 (72 per cent) and 35 to 44 (71 per cent) age groups.
For many people, the first step on the road from regular employment to entrepreneurship is going into self-employment or freelancing.
On March 8th 2017, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) marked International Women’s Day by releasing research which showed that, between 2008 and 2016, the number of female freelancers increased by 55 per cent. That compares to a 36 per cent increase for men.
Over the same time period, the number of mothers working in freelance roles rose by 79 per cent to reach a total of 302,000. That represents 15 per cent of the total freelance population.
Suneeta Johal, IPSE head of research, education and training, said: “It is heartening to see that so many women are embarking on freelance careers. The wider self-employed workforce has seen exponential growth in recent years and it is women who are driving this.”
People who are currently working freelance but want to make the step up to a more serious business venture could get their project underway by hiring office space on a short-term basis, which could be a cheaper and more flexible option than a long-term lease.
Posted by Julie Tucker
Image courtesy of iStock/heyengel
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