Take the leap and start a small business

Yell has surveyed 1,500 entrepreneurs & 1,500 employees in the UK to get the facts of life as a business owner… and how being in employment compares. Have you ever thought of starting your own business? While 51% of people think about starting their own business, there are certain barriers that they feel are stopping them from doing…

Yell has surveyed 1,500 entrepreneurs & 1,500 employees in the UK to get the facts of life as a business owner… and how being in employment compares.

Have you ever thought of starting your own business?

While 51% of people think about starting their own business, there are certain barriers that they feel are stopping them from doing so. The most prominent being a lack of money, the risk of failure or simply not knowing where to start. As almost a third of people in employment also admit that they are unhappy in their current position, we at Yell Business are encouraging the UK to ‘Take the Leap’ and have delved into the psyche of small business owners in the UK to see how you can achieve this for yourself – and potentially dispel some of these perceived barriers.

Be your own boss

Being your own boss will of course come with some stressful days or longer hours – but is a route that rewards with happiness and fulfilment – 88% of business owners telling us that they are happy with their working life on a daily basis. A further 34% stating that no worries or concerns whatsoever keep them up at night!

There’s also the added perks of working when and where you want, with 50% taking advantage of this, choosing to work from the comfort of their own home. An enviable position with almost a third of the UK’s employees revealing that they take no inspiration whatsoever from their workplace.

So what are the startup costs?

That’s all well and good – but what about the main reason people aren’t going it alone and starting up: cost? Potentially the most encouraging findings of all, we found that in 2017 – cost shouldn’t be a barrier at all! A staggering 40% of UK small businesses founded on up £500, while just shy of a third are started on up to £250.

With lack of funds being the biggest barrier for many, these low start-up costs can only be inspiring, and are made even more so where profit is concerned – 93% have turned over profit in the past year. Unsurprisingly, this meant that 85% of business owners felt their business was successful – even higher than the 74% that felt this way when we asked the same question back in 2016.

So, take the leap…!

With the above statistics painting a very positive future indeed, it seems like there’s no time like the present to start up. However, if you feel like you don’t know where to start, Yell Business can help – your digital presence being essential for any business in 2017. Get that right and you’re already on your way! It’s time to Take the Leap…

All statistics unless otherwise noted are taken from a survey of 1,500 small business owners and 1,500 consumers by Yell Business in February 2017.