A shock new survey conducted by Oracle NetSuite / The Founding Network has revealed that 85% of workers would like to start their own business.
Whilst this is good news in the sense that the spirit of entrepreneurialism, independence, and autonomy, appear to be gaining ground within the UK workforce, it compounds fears that the current labour shortages within the UK economy are unlikely to abate soon. This is because it looks like many workers are no longer satisfied with being at the beck and call of others within the employed sector, and would like to take full control of their own lives, careers, and destinies by becoming their own boss and running their own business.
85% Want To Run Own Business
The new report, entitled 'State of Entrepreneurship Report: How Founders Are Adapting and Succeeding', involved interviewing 502 respondents who have already set up their own businesses, and 1503 people who are contemplating doing so.
The survey's main finding was that 85% of UK workers would prefer to be running their own businesses, as opposed to being employees working for somebody else. Of this 85%, 62% are planning to start up their own business at some point in the next couple of years, whilst 18% plan to have the business up and running by the end of this year. Nevertheless, some of the respondents acknowledged that the current adverse economic conditions have created additional problems in starting up a new business, with 23% stating that their plans had been delayed on account of a potential recession.
The top reason cited as to why workers want to start up their own business is to be their own boss (62%). Other reasons referred to include to make more money (35%), to convert a reacreational activity into a business (27%), and to gain greater control over their life (43%).
In terms of the aforementioned 85%, 40% of this group are aged 25-34 (i.e. millennials), and this is the group that is proportionately most interested in start up their own company.
In terms of setting up a new business, 25% of the respondents stated that they believed that the first step involved acquiring what the report calls 'a side hustle'. Whilst 47% of the respondent are looking at acquiring a side hustle, 35% stated that they already had one
A Note Of Caution
Starting up your own business however is not easy. Government statistics show that there are around 500,000 – 700,000 new start-up businesses on average each year. According to Fundsquire, however, "20% of businesses fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years." And according to CBInsights, the main reason why new businesses fail is the very bitter truth that there is no market for what they are trying to sell (42%).
However, the second most common reason for business failure is cash flow (29%). According to the co-founder and executive manager of Charter Capital, Gregory Brown, one very common mistake business owners make is to place too much focus on profitability and growth, and not enough on cash flow.
Brown states: "Growth and profit are a double-edged sword that can lull business owners into a false sense of security. A business can be busier than ever, but founders will almost always come up short when their operational expenses make a jump before incoming payments do."
Reaction
Commenting upon the findings that so many workers want to set up their own business, the EMEA Senior Vice President at Oracle NetSuite, Nicky Tozer, states: "It's inspiring that the culture of entrepreneurism that the UK is famed for is alive and well. Many workers are taking definitive steps towards starting a new venture, but as current business founders report, the economic climate at the moment is challenging."
The founder of the The Founding Network, James Sutcliffe, adds: "With so many people making the transition from corporate roles to life as an entrepreneur, all 'workers' could be viewed as potential founders. This is more evident than ever before, with the rise of side hustles – a clear sign of both entrepreneurial spirit and growing confidence amongst the younger generations. However, despite the optimism, many founders find that starting a business is more challenging than they expect. A key issue the founders in our community face is gaining visibility over their entire business operations to deliver on their vision and goals. Those who master this are the ones who will go on to have the greatest success."
