Member Article

Smoother start-up route revealed by survey

The climate for new businesses is improving, with fewer experiencing any ‘real problems’ getting things off the ground, the government has claimed. The Annual Small Business Survey (ASBS), conducted by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), suggests that support services such as the government’s Small Business Service are having a positive effect on the nation’s entrepreneurial ambitions. The study questioned over 8,000 small to medium-sized businesses about the concerns and constraints they are facing, covering areas such as access to finance, regulation and growth. The results reveal that in 2005, 40% of all the recent start-up businesses did not face any real obstacles to start-up, an improvement from 36% in 2004 and 27% in 2003.

However some critics have claimed that the survey does not paint the whole picture. Matt Hardman of the Forum of Private Business said: “Small Business Service statistics from earlier this year showed an increase in sole traders but a stagnation of the numbers of small firms and those they employed. “That would point to the fact that entrepreneurs are happy to start up and go it alone but once their firms reach a certain size and age they struggle and more government support should be given to them.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .