More than one in five people in the UK plan to start a business and become their own boss this year, according to new research.
FreeAgent did a survey of 2,000 employed people in the UK and found that 21.6 per cent had similar ambitions.
Additionally, 15.7 per cent of those already in work said they intended to set up their own business in the next few years, and over a quarter – 25.6 per cent – revealed that they want to do so “at some point”, but do not yet have any concrete plans to do so.
London was home to the highest number of budding 2020 entrepreneurs (37.5 per cent), followed by a quarter of respondents in the North East and 23.1 per cent who are based in the West Midlands
Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said, “This is an exciting and uplifting discovery. New business brings with it the potential for innovation and fresh ideas and it is a welcome reality to know our nation is galvanised by an entrepreneurial current.
“However, a deeper dive into people’s feelings towards starting a business reveals the financial burden of setting up and general confidence to do so are lacking amongst our population.
“This calls for intervention on a higher level, the government must realise the importance of opening windows of opportunity for those with a great business idea, who need the support to practically turn their vision into a reality. In turn, the economy will reap the benefits of a nation on fire with new ideas, challenging traditional ‘old-dogs’ and making room for an expanded marketplace that offers more.”
WebsiteToolTester has also conducted new research which reveals how many people would like to set up their own business, but lack the confidence to do so.
Almost half told researchers they would need over £20,000 to start an enterprise, with one in 20 saying they required at least £90,000.
Age appeared to be a common barrier, with over three quarters of the responses coming from the younger generation – if they were older – and 57 per cent of the older generation saying they’d start if they were younger.
See: The rise of the Copreneur
