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Credit Crunch Spurs Spare Room Start Ups

15/10/2008 send to a friend

The current economic climate is acting as a spur for thousands of people to become their own boss and to start up and run their own business from home, according to a new report by Enterprise Nation and BT.

The 2008 Home Business Report, launched as part of Small Business Week 2008, highlights a 16 per cent rise over the last year in the number of businesses being run from home. There are now more than 2.5 million home businesses, accounting for more than half (53 per cent) of the 4.7 million small and medium sized enterprises in the UK.

Home based businesses are also bucking the trend when it comes to confidence in their prospects during the financial crisis. They are buoyantly optimistic about beating the adverse economic conditions, with 72 per cent planning to win new customers over the next six months, two thirds (66 per cent) planning to increase turnover and more than half (58 per cent) developing new products and services.

The greatest concentration of home businesses in the UK is in London, the East of England and the South East. London also leads the way with the greatest number of home business start-ups over the last year, followed by Leicester, Nottingham, Bristol and Coventry.

The report also shows an increase in spare time start ups, with a third of people (33 per cent) running a home business in their free time. This thriving 5pm-9am economy offers would be entrepreneurs a low-risk route to starting their own business.

The freedom to make their own decisions is the most popular reason (33 per cent) why home based business people enjoy being their own boss, closely followed by the benefits of a better work/life balance (24 per cent).

The use of technology is a critical factor in the start up and growth of home businesses - a view held by 82 per cent of business owners, with more than half of them (52 per cent) spending between £500 to £1,000 on Information Technology each year.

Home business owners view their spending on technology as a valuable return on investment as it helps to keep their costs low and their sales and productivity high.

Bill Murphy, managing director of BT Business, said: “BT is right at the heart of the UK small business community. We will continue to work closely with Development Agencies and business organisations; offering expertise, advice and services, which allow home businesses to concentrate on what they do best, whilst we focus on taking care of the technology that underpins their ability to compete and grow.”

Unsurprisingly 93 per cent of home-based businesses use broadband. When it comes to web sites, home businesses see their window to the world as a tool that helps them to attract new customers (46 per cent) and market themselves better (39 per cent). But it is also seen as the ultimate leveller. With a quality web site, a home business can compete on a truly global scale, making them look bigger than they are (43 per cent).

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, itself a home-based business, said: “More home business means more dynamism in the economy, less traffic on the roads and tighter social cohesion as parents stay home to run a business and the household.

“This year’s report calls for action to encourage home businesses, including asking the government to look at the economic, environmental and social benefits of homeworking, asking Regional Development Agencies to include home business targets in Regional Economic Strategies, calling for changes to the planning system and on Local Authorities to invest in home business hubs and networking facilities and to give out clear information about planning permission and business rates.”

The 2008 Home Business Report is available to download below or at BT Regions.

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Author: Mecca Ibrahim

Date: 15/10/2008

Comment: Emma, thanks so much for that and it's fantastic to have such a positive & well researched report about something optimistic when all we hear is doom & gloom about the credit crunch.

As you know I work for MOO.com and we've seen equal optimism in the small business & home business world and have seen people do really creative things with our business cards, MiniCards, greetings cards & stickers to make them look a lot bigger than they are and really pay attention to detail & stand out from the crowd.

On the internet, as a business no one knows how big (or small) you are & anything you can do to make a memorable first impression with something personal or thoughtful is going to help you win & keep customers.

There are so many services on the web which can help home businesses compete with the "big boys" & your site is a great resource for this too.

Well done on such an energetic schedule this week, and I'm really looking forward to meeting you next week.

Website: http://www.moo.com/products/business_cards.php

Author: Colin Rimmer

Date: 15/10/2008

Comment: A recent report suggests that many budding entrepreneurs feel the biggest factor to consider when starting up for themselves is the cost of business premises.

The idea of operating from home but using a professional, city centre address AND having your calls professionally answered in your company name sounds like a no-brainer - especially if it's completely free!

I work for Your Space Plc who have a number of fantastic serviced office centres across the nation and we are the first operator to offer a totally free virtual office service at some of our key sites.

'Too good to be true?' not at all - we've had great interest in the service and many sign ups enjoying a great service - including an hour in one of our meeting rooms for free (per month).

So what do we get out of it? Well, thanks to our telecoms infrastructure, all our serviced office clients enjoy free calls - and we simply pass this service on to our new virtual clients. At the same time we are building our own database of 'bricks & mortar' clients who, when the time comes, can naturally migrate into the serviced office centre they've been using.

This service is about to roll out nationally so it's exciting times for us - and indeed all future bosses!

Website: www.yourspaceplc.com/freevirtuals

Author: Viv Leach, Motivational Coach

Date: 21/10/2008

Comment: At last some positive research findings despite the media focus on the economic downturn with all the predictions of continuing doom and gloom!

Its great to read this bright news that says more and more people are choosing to start up a business working from home (kitchen table, dining room, bedroom, shed, garage, outhouse, conservatory - whatever works for them and doesnt upset the neighbours or contravene any rules). This is the most encouraging news to date! Power to all small businesses!

In South Wales the emphasis of public business support is now to focus resources on the 8% of high growth businesses, those with greater turnover and manpower, when previously the emphasis was on supporting under-represented groups (women and lone parents, ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, the 50+ and young entrepreners) to start up new businesses. Pre-start support hasnt gone away its just not the same as it was and its yet to be identified what the impact of the changes will be.

Previously the Welsh Assembly Government "Potentia" project was designed to help these under-represented groups of people overcome barriers and gain the confidence to do something for themselves - and as with all good projects sadly this work came to an end.

From the evidence reported, the Welsh Assembly Government should be continuing to support and encourage more people in Wales to start new business and work from home! Provide a kick start of monetary support to these nimble businesses who are the backbone of the economy! From little acorns mighty oaks do grow and if the focus on the oaks then what chance do the acorns have of sprouting if the ground is hard?

So, listen, all you aspiring entrepreneurs, those of you who are sitting at your desks now thinking about the idea of doing something for yourselves - dont you must have some bright ideas, a hobby or a skill that you can apply in some way or another. Have a think, at least do some exploring and contact someone like me, a coach who who will help you explore what you can do for yourself, because the plus side of working from home is the opportunity to get away from the daily grind of commuting, the satisfaction of being in control of your own destiny, the challenge of networking with others to create new contracts and the opportunity to "feel the fear and do it anyway". Its a risk, but isnt life full of risk? Doesn't that sound positively exciting?

Self-employment is not for the faint-hearted, neither is it for the people who have ideas but dont take action, self-employment is for those bold individuals who say "sod it" , yes its a risk but I will do my homework, I will speak with others, cos I have what it takes, I have passion, I have drive and I am going to make it happen!

Viv Leach, Motivational Coach
"Vitality - for life and learning"
S Wales

Website: Just google me!

Author: Jo Bausor, Skillfair

Date: 22/10/2008

Comment: The forced situation of redundancy can indeed create an opportunity to pursue your dream and go it alone. Being a consultant can be the most rewarding way to work and our intelligence shows there is currently plenty of demand for people who offer independent services.

A recent survey we ran amongst our 8000 Skillfair members - consultants who include marketers, designers, management consultants, IT specialists, researchers, engineers as well as experts in many other fields - revealed that over one quarter became self-employed following redundancy. What they value most about their status is the freedom to combine the fulfilment of personal goals with earning a living, which reflects the findings reported in your article.

According to our survey, the most successful sources of new clients are referrals and networking, so our advice to those starting out would be: Keep in touch with former colleagues and clients; contact other consultants in your area of expertise through networks such as www.skillfair.co.uk and your professional institutions; use online avenues for business; make the effort to meet interesting people face to face.

Website: www.skillfair.co.uk

Author: Linda Baldwin Talk Fusion associate

Date: 19/11/2008

Comment: I too decided to risk everything and start up on my own, being tired of all the stress and let downs that come with working for someone else. I agree totally with Jo Bausor from Skillfair about the most successful sources of new clients being referrals and networking. Buying a franchise with the Talk Fusion Video Emailing company made me realise just how many contacts we all have who use the internet for communication and how easy it is to find like - minded people through such sites as Skillfair and Enterprise Nation. Who would have thought that one day we would be able to make a living on the internet, by means of such companies as Talk Fusion, thus not tying us down to having to live in any one town or even, country? Working and earning a living on the internet is definitely the way forward. Looking forward to the Newbusinesslive! event at Nottingham in January

Website: www.talk-fusion.info

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