According to a survey of more than 8,227 people by Entrepreneur Seminar - an education and mentoring programme - it was found that 80 per cent of employees were not satisfied with their jobs. Those surveyed were between the ages of 25-55 years - with a 60 per cent male, 40 per cent female gender split.
The majority - 78 per cent - were employed in small and medium-sized enterprises and of those, 60 per cent were in middle management roles; 27 per cent were of junior and entry level, with senior management accounting for 13 per cent.
Despite 82 per cent being fearful of an impending recession - brought about due to the pandemic - 68 per cent of workers were considering leaving their jobs and setting up their own businesses, maybe encouraged by the economists more optimistic predictions of a recovery and a surge in economic growth.
During the pandemic, many employees reassessed their priorities and career objectives, which led to 58 per cent of those surveyed stating that they were considering a change of skills and 55 per cent saying that it had made them more likely to start their own business.
The survey found that the majority - 72 per cent - of workers wanting to start a business was with the intention of increasing their financial wealth despite the fact that 60 per cent of new businesses fail in the first five years. Lack of capital is often the reason for the failure - 95 per cent of those surveyed admitted to funding of less than £10,000 with 25 per cent only able to invest £5,000.
The biggest barriers to starting a business were found to be lack of business knowledge, as cited by 49 per cent of those surveyed; 32 per cent said lack of funding and 10 per cent lacked confidence in their business idea.
These findings correspond with data produced by HMRC, who report that more businesses were created in March 2021 than in any other month since records began. In 2020, a 14 per cent increase on the previous year brought the total of new businesses started to 835,000.
Martin Warner - founder of Entrepreneur Seminar - stated:
“This is an unprecedented era of opportunity for entrepreneurs and the pandemic has provided many aspiring entrepreneurs with an opportunity to pause and reflect on their careers. The world is open to new ideas, opportunities, and change, but jumping into entrepreneurship is a brave decision, regardless of the times.
The most important thing for anyone starting their own business is to get the right advice and mentoring. With that support in place, anyone has the potential to run a great business, but without it the risk of failure increases significantly.
It is heartening to see so many people looking to embark on the journey of entrepreneurship because small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. But they will face challenges they have never encountered before and going alone requires not only courage, but a willingness to learn from others who have successfully completed that journey.”
