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.