Nearly 17m Brits are sitting on a business idea, and a third of them plan to do something about it, according to new research.
Following the launch of their new start-ups package, high street bank NatWest carried out research into levels of entrepreneurship in Britain.
The research suggested that 30% intend to turn their idea into a business, and more than a quarter (26%) plan to do it within the next year.
Life changing moments appear to play a big part in fueling entrepreneurialism. Redundancy, illness and having children all scored highly when respondents were asked what triggered their business drive.
TV start-up shows such as Dragons’ Den are also having a positive influence on UK business, according to NatWest, by encouraging enterprise – particularly among young people.
Nearly a fifth of young entrepreneurs (under 35) who have set up businesses within the last five years said they were inspired by reality TV.
“Whilst it’s encouraging that TV programmes can inspire an army of armchair entrepreneurs into action, they only really scratch the surface of what it takes to run a successful business,” said Steve Pateman, chief executive of business banking at NatWest.
Pateman said more than half of budding entrepreneurs were not confident they possessed all the skills needed to create a successful business. However, given the right support, ‘initial hurdles needn’t be a barrier to getting a good business idea off the ground’, he claimed.
Nearly a quarter of entrepreneurs who started a company in the last five years were tempted to give up on their dream because of difficulties such as cashflow, lack of finance or poor marketing skills, according to the research.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
