A significant number of Britons are now clocking out of their day jobs and punching in to their own business when they get home.
New research from pollsters YouGov on behalf of Microsoft shows more and more people running small "bedroom businesses" from home while holding down a full-time day job at the same time.
The study found that 28% of Britons are selling goods or services from home, and of that number, nearly half are doing it to supplement their income.
One of the key enablers of this new niche of enterprise, the survey found, is the advent of new, easier to use information technology, allowing people the flexibility to conduct business away from a traditional office environment.
Almost three-quarters of the people surveyed said they felt it is easier to run a business from home today than it was 10 years ago, citing e-mail and the internet as key components. An overwhelming 94% agreed that a business with direct access to technology was more likely to succeed.
With job-for-life notions becoming a trend of the past, the survey goes further to highlight the changing views on employment in the UK. Over two-thirds believed they will hold two jobs concomitantly in the next five years, and this trend is expected to increase amongst young people.
"I believe we are seeing the true entrepreneurial spirit of the UK reflected in these small start-up businesses that operate on the fringes of the economy," said John Coulthard, director of small business at Microsoft UK.
While the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) states that small businesses employ 58.2% of the UK's workforce and turnover 54.2% of GDP, the "bedroom business" phenomenon encompasses an almost clandestine sector which suggests the DTI's figures could be much higher.
"There is a demand for a new, and perhaps more accurate definition of the 'SME' term, which would better represent the diversity we see in the market today," said Coulthard.
Some 83% of respondents said the goods and services they sell from home are completely unrelated to their day jobs.
