Young entrepreneurs are extremely confident about growing their businesses, new research has shown.
Nearly three quarters of self-employed people aged 25-34 said they expected turnover to increase over the next year, according to Kensington Mortgages self-employed index.
Confidence also remained high for entrepreneurs of all ages, with 47% expecting an increase in turnover, and 32% of the self-employed ‘very confident’ about the year ahead.
Despite the high levels of confidence for business growth, many business-owners are not planning to increase marketing budgets to achieve the higher turnover predicted.
Nearly a third said they would definitely not be increasing their marketing spend, and a further 21% said they did not intend to.
Ian Giles, director of marketing at Kensington Mortgages suggested the recent interest rate rises could explain why marketing spending is low on the agenda for many business-owners.
“It’s a benign economic environment for the self-employed and this is reflected in the high confidence levels we have seen in the index. But, with uncertainty hanging over the future of the base rate, business owners are understandably cautious when it comes to stretching their finances,” said Giles.
The survey also found that the most popular funding method for the self-employed is from personal savings (48%), followed by business loans, preferred by 19%.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
