|
|
Entrepreneurs defy economic downturn
Posted by peopleperhour.com -
05/08/2008 17:16
|
|
While the credit card and current economic downturn appear to be dominating the media these days, a recent study indicates that over half of all small business owners remain optimistic and do not intend to change their expansion plans.
These were the findings of ‘DNA of an Entrepreneur’, an international study recently released by specialist insurer Hiscox. According to the study, entrepreneurs in most major economies are still optimistic about their growth plans; in the US, for example, a staggering 69% of those asked responded that they will continue with the growth plans for their businesses despite the current unfavourable economic conditions.
Some other interesting findings seem to suggest that many entrepreneurs are still undeterred by the economic downturn:
1. Around one third for UK’s entrepreneurs (34%) responded that they set up their own business in order to make more money that they would working for someone else. 21% identified their desire to make their own ideas reality as their main motivating factor.
2. US entrepreneurs are even more ambitious, with 46% setting up their own business to make more money.
3. Most Dutch and French business owners (74% and 71%) were found to be motivated mostly by the desire to “be their own boss”, compared with a 58% in the UK.
The survey also identified some of the major challenges faced by future entrepreneurs:
1. Tax: 68% of British entrepreneurs believe that the taxation system in the UK does not favour those who want to start their own business, with similar figures in Germany and France. In the US, only 40% of small business owners think that the taxation system is an obstacle to small businesses.
2. Financing: nearly two thirds (64%) of British small business owners state that finding finance for a new venture is not easy, with the corresponding figures in Germany and France being 81% and 72% respectively. In the US the situation appears to be marginally better, with 58% saying that it was difficult to raise the initial funding for their new business.
3. Cultural factors: in the UK, only 44% feel that culturally the UK is a nation of natural risk takers. The Germans and French appear to be even more risk-averse, with only 33% and 34%; these percentages are dwarfed by the corresponding 78% figure in the US.
4. Government bureaucracy: this is the biggest issue in France, with 76% identifying government red tape as a major obstacle to setting up a new business. This is also the biggest single worry for the Germans (67%), with the British following at 54%. In comparison, only 32% of Americans think that government bureaucracy was an obstacle to entrepreneurial activity.
5. Education: according to the survey, almost two thirds of UK’s (61%) and France’s (66%) small business owners believe that the educational system does not promote entrepreneurial activity and ideas, with the figure in Germany being much higher at 80%. In the US, only 35% of those that took part in the survey feel that their education system does not encourage entrepreneurship. |
|
|
|
|
| Please Login to post your comments >> |
| (Not registered yet? Register now) |
|
| Posted Comments: |
|
|
|
Get Started Now! |
FAQs |
|
| PeoplePerHour.com enables small businesses in the UK to outsource work to freelance providers |
 |
 |
| How it Works >> |
| With PeoplePerHour.com you can |
| Hire Freelance experts |
| Manage projects to completion |
| Pay securely |
| |
| |
News Updates By RSS |
|
 Subscribe to Our RSS Feeds |
| Select your chosen web-based news reader from the list below: |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|