Member Article

Top 10 reasons for starting a business

By Simon Burckhardt, Managing Director, Vonage UK

With more private sector businesses than ever in the UK – 5.4 million – there is a continuing rise of entrepreneurial zeal among individuals wishing to strike out from employment, to set up anew and perhaps to realise a lifelong dream.

It is interesting therefore, to gain an insight into what makes these spirited business pioneers tick. What motivated them to make that move and start a business? Doing so isn’t without its risks, of course, so their conviction that it would be worth it must be strong.

Thanks to those individuals and their impetus, consumers and businesses can enjoy a wider range and variety within the products and services they buy and see new innovations come to market. The UK economy also benefits enormously too – to the tune of £1.2 trillion in turnover.

A survey we carried out reveals the top ten reasons for starting a small business. Intriguingly, we see that two motivations come across strongly – the first, a general desire to be in control, to pursue a passion and so on, and the second, lifestyle factors of working hours and location.

It is positive that people who have the determination to start a business have the confidence to do so. This confidence could in part be down to the availability and versatility of today’s technology-based solutions. These can make starting a business more accessible.

Technology

Technology can level the playing field in business, helping those who have the vision and the ideas to get their small business off the ground.

Innovations that include cloud-based solutions have brought down the upfront start-up costs faced by new businesses. Investment in infrastructure, office space, IT and communications; these expenses could have been prohibitive in the past but now businesses don’t have to spend out so heavily on hardware or software licences. Now, they can pay as they go for software services hosted in the cloud.

Then there is the ability to work flexibly and remotely. Over a third of our survey respondents cited geographical flexibility (working from home; working closer to home etc.) to suit their lives as a reason for starting their business, and flexible working hours ranked alongside the independence to pursue their ideas/ambitions in the top ten’s top spot. Another hygiene factor - the desire for control over the environment they work in – was the second most cited reason.

Over half of small businesses work remotely at least once a week, our study found. Technology can make this possible and help reduce a business’ operating costs and improve its productivity at the same time. One in three of our surveyed small businesses said they currently use cloud-based voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services which allows calls to be made over the internet at competitive rates. A VoIP service can link a landline calling plan to work smartphones to keep the cost of calling when on the move down.

They can also show-up calls from a mobile to the called party as a local ‘business’ number. This can be a valued feature among small businesses as nearly two thirds of Britons see businesses who have a mobile number as their main point of contact (excluding those that are inherently mobile, such as plumbers and electricians) – as opposed to a ‘landline’ number – as unprofessional. Sixty per cent think they appear untrustworthy.

Growth

This year’s ‘Report on Small Firms’ from the Prime Minister’s advisor on enterprise enthuses that there has never been a better time to found a business, that barriers to doing so are disappearing and that the internet represents a £19 billion opportunity for small firms and the UK. It termed this time the ’golden age for small firms.’2 And indeed 16 per cent of our ‘top ten’ respondents seem to have held a positive outlook, citing ‘opportunities for significant profit growth’ as a reason for having started their business.

Small businesses contribute 48 per cent of private sector employment in the UK. The motivation and enthusiasm of individuals to start a business is an asset to be nurtured. Technology can help ease their way to a fully operational business and help them realise the benefits of flexible working that they set out to acquire.

Top 10 reasons to start a business

1. Independence to follow ideas and ambitions
2. Flexible working hours
3. Control over the environment I work in
4. I am responsible for the success of the business
5. Geographical flexibility to suit my life
6. Ability to follow my passion / creative interest
7. Satisfaction in making the impact I want
8. Unexpected change in circumstance
9. Always wanted to own a business
10. Opportunities for significant profit growth

Simon Burckhardt is MD of Vonage UK, a leading provider of communications services allowing people to make phone calls over the internet, dedicated to helping small businesses succeed.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Bailey .