High-speed broadband internet and increasing emphasis on work-life balance will see home workers account for one in five UK workers by 2015 predicts PeoplePerHour.com.
A report published at the end of last year by Enterprise Nation in association with British Telecom found there were more than 2.5 million businesses operating from home in the UK • a 16 percent increase in one year.
PeoplePerHour.com • the online marketplace that connects freelance workers with small businesses • expects the growth in home working to accelerate in 2009 particularly, as thousands recently redundant Britons turn self-employed.
However, the trend is expected to continue after the economic recovery kicks-in with around a twenty percent increase in home startups year-on-year as broadband internet becomes more widespread and increasing numbers of Britons recognise the benefits of working from home. By 2015, PeoplePerHour.com estimates the number of Britons running home businesses and freelancing from home will reach 7.5 million • or roughly one in five people of working age (16-65).
Every week around 1400 Britons are establishing home based businesses, using the internet to keep costs low and maximise profits. The Enterprise Nation report found that 42% of home business owners prefer to outsource work to remote freelancers compared to 14% of entrepreneurs who choose to employ people fulltime and in-house. This trend is contributing to the burgeoning home working economy as demand for independent freelance workers grows.
PeoplePerHour.com has grown rapidly on the back of these trends, amassing an impressive 40,000+ users since launching in early 2008. The site matches small businesses with remote freelancers to deliver ad hoc business services.
For example, in August 2008 former estate agent Tom Nicholson established Fixed Rent • a guaranteed rental scheme business • from his garden shed in North West London. “Broadband internet has enabled me to market and grow my business cheaply and effectively,” he reports. “I have outsourced numerous jobs to remote freelancers through PeoplePerHour.com. This has kept my operating costs low as I built a client base.” The business has grown rapidly and new home-based Fixed Rent franchises are now opening nationwide.
The advent of broadband internet has driven the home working revolution in the UK, with 82% of home business owners like Mr Nicholson believing technology to be a critical’ or very important’ factor in enabling them to start and grow a business from home, according to the Enterprise Nation report.
“Broadband is the single most important factor in the incredible growth in UK home business startups in recent years,” says PeoplePerHour.com founder and CEO Xenios Thrasyvoulou. “Given only fifty percent of UK homes currently have access to broadband, we anticipate a significant year-on-year rise in home business startups over the next five to seven years.”
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PeoplePerHour.com Background Information
PeoplePerHour.com was founded in 2007 by two Cambridge University graduates: Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris.
The company is funded by its founders and a group of prominent angel investors who are active in the internet space.
Typical PeoplePerHour.com buyers run a small businesses (usually less than 20 people) including boutique financial firms, internet companies, property and PR agencies amongst many others.
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