Turning aspirations into action: 63% of Brits want to start their own business

Karlsruhe, 7 September 2021

New research from Europe’s largest cloud and hosting services provider, IONOS, has found that 63% of British people aspire to start their own business, but financial reasons, a lack of ideas and worries about security are preventing them from doing so.

The study, conducted on behalf of IONOS, surveyed a total of 500 people from the UK, exploring attitudes, motivations and challenges regarding setting up a business in the wake of the pandemic.   

Findings show that Brits have a strong desire to become self-employed, with over half (59%) of respondents believing that this could make them happier than being an employee. This is particularly true for respondents aged 20-29, with nearly seven in 10 (64%) dreaming about starting up a business – the highest percentage across the age groups. 

The key motivators revolve around the benefits people believe self-employment can offer, such as flexible working hours (57%), better earning opportunities (46%) and the opportunity for independent work and self-determination (36%). 

However, for many there are clear reasons stopping them from taking action to achieve their self-employment goals. The research found that financial reasons and ideas not being fully developed were the main barriers (both 41%), followed by a fear of the lack of security (36%). Believing they don’t possess the technical know-how to build a business was holding nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents back.

Interestingly, many respondents have seen the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to rethink their employment situation, with over 40% saying their desire to become self-employed has increased during this time. The pandemic has also impacted how respondents view what self-employed success looks like, with a quarter (25%) believing a business with an online presence is more important for success due to the pandemic, and 15% saying they would now choose a different industry when starting up compared to beforehand.

Aspiration around self-employment is evident, and it’s interesting to see how digitalisation is considered an essential channel for those considering becoming self-employed. Over two thirds of respondents (69%) agreed that digitalisation would make starting a business easier and nearly a quarter (23%) believe that they would only start a business with a digital business model.

Additionally, 37% of respondents suggested that support in creating a website would make them consider starting their own business. 

The IONOS Digital Guide has been designed to provide overviews and top tips on topics relating to servers, websites, hosting, domains, online marketing, and email for web hosting beginners and experts: https://www.ionos.co.uk/digitalguide/