Asians more likely to be entrepreneurs reveals a new survey
(February 2002)

One in three people across England are currently running or considering starting their own business, according to a new report. The Household Survey is a new bi-annual survey of adults in England, and is the first large-scale attempt to explore attitudes towards business and find out how many people are involved in entrepreneurial activities.

The survey revealed that 86% of people admire entrepreneurs, and 76% would encourage their friends or relatives to start their own enterprise. Most people (84%) surveyed also thought that entrepreneurs who failed in their first business should be given the chance to start again.

People from the South West are most likely to be entrepreneurs, closely followed by London, Yorkshire and Humberside and the East of England. The North East has the smallest number of entrepreneurs, and the research has revealed that people from the North of England are more likely to want to change the business they are involved with by buying or investing in a new one.

People from the Southern and Eastern regions of England have a more long-term view of their business and want to expand into new markets, while entrepreneurs from the Midlands are most likely to want to sell their business.

The survey took a close look at budding entrepreneurs who are currently thinking about setting up on their own. It found that an impressive number of them had a specific business idea (81%) and even more - 83% - had done something towards starting their business, including research, writing a business plan or looking for premises.

The main motivations for wanting to start a business were the freedom to be your own boss and the opportunity to make more money.

However, only 33% of would-be entrepreneurs were convinced that they really would end up running their own business. The survey addresses this by looking at what puts people off becoming entrepreneurs. The top three are:

• fear of debt (51%);
• difficulty in finding finance (50%); and
• fear of failure (47%).

Finally, the survey reveals who is attracted to which type of business, and, more importantly, how much they earn.

· a quarter of all men are involved in business ownership, but only one in ten women are;

· there is a higher proportion of would-be entrepreneurs amongst the Black and Asian communities (30% and 16% respectively) compared with 11% of the white population; and

· younger people are more likely to be thinking of starting their own business, and those aged between 35 and 54 are most likely to be running their own business. Once people reach 45 they are much less likely to consider starting a business.