James Cook- 14 September 2023
With almost 20,000 Brits searching ‘how to start a business’ each month, it’s clear we’re a nation full of budding entrepreneurs. However, if so many are considering flying solo, what barriers are potentially stopping their excursion?
Online printing company, Solopress, has analysed the reasons currently stopping Brits from taking the leap into starting their dream business, as well as what would encourage people to start their entrepreneurial journey more and which industries are the most popular for aspiring business owners to enter.
Three-quarters of employed Brits dream of becoming self-employed
Imagining your dreams and living them are two very different prospects. For 74% of Brits who don’t already own a business, pursuing their dream of becoming an entrepreneur remains an ambition.
According to Solopress’s survey, starting their venture in the retail sector is the most appealing industry to enter for aspiring business owners, closely followed by health and wellness.
These are the five most popular industries for aspiring entrepreneurs to enter:
| Top five sectors people would like to open a business in | Percentage of respondents that want to open a business in this sector (%) |
| Retail | 6.4% |
| Health and wellness | 5.8% |
| Food and beverages | 5.0% |
| IT | 4.6% |
| Pet care | 4.5% |
Cardiff has the largest population of aspiring entrepreneurs
They say you become who you surround yourself with. If you’re based in Cardiff, it would appear that your circle is filled with aspiring entrepreneurs.
A staggering 84% of all Cardiffians would like to open a business in the future. Unsurprisingly, they’re closely followed by Londoners where 82% of people also have ambitions of running their own business.
Interestingly, each of the top four cities full of aspiring entrepreneurs belongs to a different corner of Britain. In Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Belfast, it’s clear that Britain is full of ambitious potential entrepreneurs.
| City | Would open a business (Net) | N/A – I would never open a business in any sector | Most Popular Sector (%) | |
| Cardiff | 83.6% | 16.4% | Retail | 10.5% |
| London | 82.0% | 18.0% | Health and wellness | 6.7% |
| Belfast | 80.0% | 20.0% | Retail | 10.9% |
| Glasgow | 78.9% | 21.2% | Health and wellness | 9.6% |
| Leeds | 77.2% | 22.8% | Pet care | 8.9% |
Solopress’s Head of Marketing, Glen Eckett, says: “A larger budget can not only increase a new business owner’s options but also alleviate a proportion of the stress experienced when first entering the entrepreneurial world.”
Barriers to starting a business
Almost a third of the survey respondents (30.7%) cited the associated cost as being the main reason preventing or putting their entrepreneurial dreams on hold, while almost a quarter of people believe their fear of failure is the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship (23.1%).
This was closely followed by the economic climate being the third largest factor preventing aspiring entrepreneurs from starting (22.2%). A lack of experience (20.2%) and a lack of knowledge (16.4%) made up the last two barriers to entrepreneurship.
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