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Boris for home business?

03/05/2008 send to a friend

I like Boris Johnson but I’m not sure he’s too fond of home business. Which is a little surprising when you think that London has the second highest population of home business owners in the UK (second only to the South East)

The City’s PM

What gives us grounds for thinking that Boris (newly instated Mayor/ Prime Minister for London) doesn’t have much time for home business?

In a post on his blog on 26th July 2007 Boris said “Working from home is simply a euphemism for sloth, apathy, staring out of the window and random surfing of the internet” Ouch. We responded to it here
In an article in the FT in mid April entitled ‘What I could do for business in London’ no mention was made of encouraging home based business.
In a doorstep interview with business website startups.co.uk, there was again no mention of home business but there was mention of the need to do more to “encourage people to be enterprising." Good intention, low on detail.

City AM

Here at Enterprise Nation we’re doing our bit to encourage home business in the city.

Next week we’ll be on a podcast recorded by newspaper City AM, encouraging city folk to head home and start a business (a link to this podcast will follow.)

And we’re doing 4 Spare Room Start Up events in and around the city in May/June/July so if you’re a home business owner in London and feeling unloved by Boris, then come to one of our events! – Emma Jones

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Comments

Author: Hazel Edmunds

Date: 10/05/2008

Comment: Boris is certainly at odds with the London Development Agency which funds the British Library Business & IP Centre to help business start-ups and developers. This is a stunning service which is available to anyone who needs it and is certainly not limited to businesses in London. I hope he isn't in a position to withdraw the funding which is, I think, available for another couple of years.
As for the idea that working at or from home is a euphemism for opting out I'm not sure where he's coming from -- unless he's a practitioner of the "stare out the window instead of working" philosophy.
Have I hit the nail on the head?
PS I'm off to tie up the roses and then back to the work for another hour or so!

Website: www.adsetsbusinessinfo.blogspot.com

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