One
in four people across England are currently running or considering starting
their own business, according to a report published today by the Small Business
Service (SBS), an agency of the DTI.
The
SBS Household Survey of Entrepreneurship is a biennial survey of adults in
England. It attempts to explore attitudes towards business and find out how
many people are involved in entrepreneurial activities. It also aims to
understand what motivates people to start their own business, and questions
which factors contribute to the success or failure of their venture.
The
survey revealed that 93 per cent of people admire entrepreneurs, and 64 per
cent would encourage their friends or relatives to start their own enterprise.
Most
people (87 per cent) surveyed also thought that entrepreneurs who failed in
their first business should be given the chance to start again.
Just
over 10,000 people were surveyed, and were broken down into three groups:
–
13 per cent were involved in entrepreneurial activity
–
11 per cent were currently thinking about going into business
–
76 per cent were not interested in striking out on their own.
Key
findings include:
–
Men are twice as likely as women to be involved in entrepreneurial activity or
to be thinking about it
–
Ethnic minority groups are more likely to be considering starting a business,
but there are low levels of actual entrepreneurial activity among the black
population
–
Regionally, there is a north-south divide, with a higher percentage of ‘doers’
in London, the South West, East of England (all 15 per cent), and the South
East (14 per cent), than in the North West (11 per cent), the West Midlands (10
per cent) and the North East (9 per cent).
–
There is a similar pattern in the proportion of those considering starting a
business, with most ‘thinkers’ in London (15 per cent) and the least in the
North East (7 per cent).
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