Starting a business may be just the ticket for achieving that adrenaline high, according to new research suggesting most entrepreneurs get a ‘buzz’ out of running their company.
According to a survey run by The University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI), 70% of businesspeople get a buzz from entrepreneurship.
Respondents cited qualities such as being in control of one’s own destiny, success, freedom, challenge, satisfaction, profit and winning as the most exciting things about being in business.
The buzz of running a business clearly has an effect on the willingness of entrepreneurs to continue working past retirement age. Only one in ten respondents saw themselves giving up work at state retirement age.
On the flip side, the biggest problem faced by entrepreneurs on a day-to-day basis is market conditions. Nearly a third cited this as the most worrying problem facing small firms, closely followed by time pressure, with 22%, and administrative burdens at 16%.
The survey also showed a lack of enthusiasm for the Small Business Forum, which had its first meeting in May.
Margaret Hodge, minister for industry and the regions, said at the time of launch that the forum would provide a new opportunity for her to meet regularly with ‘ten small business owners and each of the UK’s main business membership bodies in an open and frank round table meeting’.
However, when asked how much small businesses would benefit in practice, 77% of respondents said ‘very little’ or ‘not at all’.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007