This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scots positive about business success
13/06/2005
One in five adults in Scotland is either already running
their own business or thinking about it, according to a
survey examining people's attitudes towards enterprise,
published today.
The
Household Survey of Entrepreneurship 2003, part of the
Executive's long-term drive to promote a more enterprising
culture in Scotland, was designed to help identify how many
people are engaged in, or thinking about, running their own
business, as well as exploring their motivations and
identifying potential barriers to success.
Minister for Enterprise Jim Wallace said:
"If the Executive is to achieve its key aim of
continuing to grow our economy then we need to change
attitudes in Scotland towards enterprise and success. We
want to see a Scotland where people are not afraid of
failure and take sensible risks in the quest for
success.
"Research like this is useful in helping us identify how
many people are engaged in or thinking about
entrepreneurial activity, and what their motivations and
concerns are."
The research found that:
- almost one in five adults - 19
per cent - in Scotland is either already involved in
running their own business (ten per cent) or thinking
about it (nine per cent)
- attitudes to enterprise in
Scotland are positive with the vast majority of working
age adults (96 per cent) saying that they admire people
who start their own business; 66 per cent believe that
they have the skills and knowledge to start up a
business; 69 per cent would encourage a friend or
relative to start a business
- men are twice as likely as women
to be thinking about entrepreneurial activity.
Jim Wallace continued:
"It is encouraging to see that attitudes to enterprise
in Scotland are generally positive and that there is
already a significant number of people thinking about
starting up in business.
"We do however want to see more women and young people
start up in business and, since commissioning this survey,
I have launched a new strategy for women's enterprise as
well as a Business Start-Up Grant scheme for young
people.
"Our £86 million Determined to Succeed strategy for
enterprise in education is designed to help create a more
enterprising culture, starting in the classroom."
The Executive today also published the
Annual Survey
of Small Businesses Scotland 2003, which considers the
attitudes of owners of small businesses. This is the third
such survey in Scoltand. The findings from this report were
also generally positive.
Key findings are:
- 22 per cent of all employers
reported doing very well and a further 68 per cent of
employers reported doing quite well or adequately
- 40 per cent of employers had
experienced growth in the previous year or expected to
grow in the future year. The proportion expecting to
grow was particularly high for employers who had been
in business for less than four years
- Almost three quarters (73 per
cent) of employers would encourage someone else to
start-up in business.
The Executive sponsored NOP Social and Political, a
primary research partner to public sector organisations in
the UK, to carry out a survey of individuals in Scotland,
as part of a UK-wide survey commissioned by the Small
Business Service. It aims to:
- Monitor over time attitudes to
enterprise
- Explore the main motivations and
barriers to starting a business
- Monitor the proportion intending
to set up their own business
The survey was carried out between October and November
2003, and involved 2,000 individuals in Scotland. The
Scottish figures for entrepreneurial activity are slightly
lower than in England (13 per cent running their own
business; 11 per cent thinking about it).
The Executive sponsored a survey of 1000 small and
medium sized businesses in Scotland (Annual Survey of Small
Business Scotland 2003) as part of a larger UK-wide survey
commissioned by the Small Business Service. The survey
follows on from similar surveys in Scotland in autumn 2001
and 2002.