Most UK Workers Plan to Start Business – Especially Millennials

The inspiring entrepreneurial culture that the UK is famed for is alive and well, with around 85% of workers wanting to start their own business, revealed a new study.

Almost one in five of these workers (18%) plan to start their business  by the end of 2022, and 62% plan to do so in the next two years, confirmed a new study by Oracle NetSuite and The Founding Network, a global community of the most innovative, high-growth SME leaders. The top three reasons UK workers want to start their own business are to become their own boss (54%), gain more control over their lives (44%), and become wealthier (35%).

The study of more than 2,000 UK workers and business founders revealed that UK workers are ready to go out on their own, while UK business founders are shifting priorities and learning new skills. Crucially, both current and future founders recognise the critical role technology will play in their success. Those wanting to start their own business, believe a ‘side hustle’ is the first step, and many are already taking what they believe is the first step by working a side hustle.

MILLENNIAL ENTREPRENEURS

More millennials want to start their own business than people in any other individual generation, with 40% of UK workers that plan to start a business being 25-34 years old. Other key findings reveal that:

• 25% of UK workers believe a side hustle is the first step to setting up their own business, 35% already have a side hustle, and 47% are considering embarking on one.
• Current economic conditions are stalling the plans of some future entrepreneurs, with 31% stating they don’t want to start a business now due to rising inflation, and 23% delaying due to a possible recession.

“With so many people making the transition from corporate roles to life as an entrepreneur, all ‘workers’ could be viewed as potential founders,” said James Sutcliffe, Founder, The Founding Network. “This is more evident than ever before, with the rise of side hustles – a clear sign of both entrepreneurial spirit and growing confidence amongst the younger generations. However, despite the optimism, many founders find that starting a business is more challenging than they expect. A key issue the founders in our community face is gaining visibility over their entire business operations to deliver on their vision and goals. Those who master this are the ones who will go on to have the greatest success.”

TOP ENTREPRENEURIAL CONCERNS

UK business founders are shifting priorities and learning new skills.  Growing interest in starting a business comes at a time when existing UK business founders are worried about economic challenges and finding out that starting a business is more challenging than they initially expected, confirmed the survey. Primary concerns include:

• UK business founders are concerned about the current business environment, with rising inflation (88%), a possible recession (83%), geopolitical events (67%), and supply chain disruption (66%) the top worries.
• To address these challenges, founders noted that they have shifted their 2022 priorities and are focused on improving profitability (45%), increasing revenue (41%), and managing costs (30%).
• In addition to adapting to a difficult business environment, 79% of UK business founders admitted that starting a business is more challenging than they initially expected.
• To be successful, 91% of UK business founders said they have had to develop new skills since starting their own business. The top three skills business founders have had to learn are customer relations (56%), marketing and communications (49%), and financial and accounting practices (45%).

TECH KEY TO SUCCESS

Current and future UK business founders know technology is the key to success. According to the survey, cloud technology is helping founders navigate a changing economic environment and grow their businesses. Around 64% of UK business founders say technology is essential for running their business and 98% of future founders believe technology will play a key role in the success of their business. Other key findings reveal that:

• UK business founders are using cloud technology to navigate economic challenges and overcome skill gaps, and 87% of founders using cloud technologies are seeing the benefits.
• 75% of UK business founders using cloud computing said they grew their business in 2021. The top three benefits they attribute to cloud computing were being able to run their business remotely (38%), connecting data for an accurate view of the business (27%), and conducting accurate financial reporting (25%).
• In addition, UK business founders using cloud technologies believe they can effectively grow their go-to-market channels (63%) and expand internationally (58%).

INSPIRING UK ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE

“It’s inspiring that the culture of entrepreneurism that the UK is famed for is alive and well. Many workers are taking definitive steps towards starting a new venture, but as current business founders report, the economic climate at the moment is challenging,” said Nicky Tozer, EMEA Senior Vice President at Oracle NetSuite. “The results of our study clearly show that most UK business leaders using cloud technology said they are better placed to adapt, be more productive and efficient, and carve out new opportunities. We also found that the next generation of UK business founders understands the critical role technology will play in their success.”

Find out more about the State of Entrepreneurship Report: How Founders Are Adapting and Succeeding here.

The UK Government has launched a taskforce to boost the number of women entrepreneurs starting fast-growing companies. Click here to read more.