Entrepreneurial nuggets of wisdom and stats to provide food for thought.

NUGGETs INC.

“The overwhelming majority of successful innovations exploit change.” Peter Drucker

holIday BlUEs

09the life of an entrepreneur may sound idyllic to some. deciding when you come into work. taking time off when you feel like it. the reality is a little less rosy. take holidays, for example: the average entrepreneur in the UK takes just nine days holiday during their first year in business. Source: Barclays. Starting up in 2009: a comparison to the experience 1999

rEady, sTEady, Go!

1 billionFor many of the top ten billionaires in the Forbes list of billionaires, starting their own business or buying one (as opposed to inheriting one, or working for someone else) was a significant factor in their accumulation of wealth. that includes carlos Slim helú, Bill Gates, Larry ellison, amancio ortega, warren Buffett and Li Ka-shing. Source: www.forbes.com/billionaires/list

rIsky BUsINEss

32%entrepreneurs are stereotypically risk takers. But, the current trends are towards hoarding rather than investing. a total of 32% of UK entrepreneurs are stockpiling assets or retaining cash according to deloitte’s 2012 survey.Source: deloitte entrepreneurship UK 2012/2013

dEsIraBlE CarEEr ChoICE

91.1%entrepreneurship appears a popular career choice in africa – possibly out of necessity rather than choice. In 2010, nine out of ten 18-to-64 year olds in Ghana agreed with the statement that in their country, most people consider starting a business as a desirable career choice. compared with 65.4% in the US, and 51% in the UK. Source: www.gemconsortium.org – Global entrepreneurship monitor

4.6 million there were 4.6 million micro-businesses in the UK in 2012 (businesses with 0-9 employees), accounting for £624bn in turnover and 96% of all businesses. Source: house of commons Library business statistics – www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06152

NaTIoNal BENChMarks

142the number of nations who had their entrepreneurship and opportunity performance assessed as part of the 2012 Legatum prosperity Index, a global benchmark of wealth and wellbeing. the entrepreneurship and opportunity sub-index looked at entrepreneurial environment, innovative activity, and access to opportunity, in particular. denmark (1) and Sweden (2) led the ranking. the UK was 6th, the US 12th, china 66th and India 99th. Source: www.prosperity.com

=100,000

16 BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW ISSUE 3 – 2013

ENTREpRENEURIAL TIME

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TraINING hard

12%of those countries classed as having innovation-driven entrepreneurs, which includes the UK, japan and Germany, for example, just 12% on average of the working age population had received in-school start-up training. Source: Global entrepreneurship monitor Special report on entrepreneurship education and training 2010

“Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”Niccolo Machiavelli

sUrvIval raTEs

44%entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted, but the start-up survival rate is better than the often quoted five or so per cent. the number of UK start-ups managing to make it past the first five years is a little under a half. Source: www.ons.gov.uk

INCoMPETENT faIlUrE

46%Finance, insurance and real-estate. these are the industries to be in if you want the best prospect of start-up survival according to research by the University of tennessee, with 58% still going after four years, compared to 37% in information technology. the main reason for failure – incompetence (46%).Source: www.statisticbrain.com/startup-failure-by-industry

sIzaBlE forECasTs

28%when asked how did their actual revenue grow over the last year 32% of entrepreneurs said it was in line with forecasts; 30% were only 5% out either way; but a sizeable 28% got it wrong by more than 5%. In fact, 14% under-performed by more than 5%.Source: deloitte entrepreneurship UK 2012/2013

MalE sTarT-UPs

11.6% despite talk of an upsurge of female entrepreneurs it is still the case that more men than women start their own business. the percentage of the male 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business in the UK in 2012, for example, was just over one in ten (11.6%); for women the percentage was 6.3%. Source: www.gemconsortium.org - Global entrepreneurship monitor

= 4,370

196,651the number of businesses set up in the UK in 2013, as at 15 may, according to StartUp Britain's StartUp tracker tool. the tool supplies daily monthly and yearly figures on business start-ups in the UK (with up to a couple of days delay). Source: www.startupbritain.co

17www.london.edu/bsr BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW

entrepreneurship THE NUMBERS

Source: Starting up in 2009: a comparison to the experience 1999

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81%

63%

71%

30%

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Busie

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compared to when they were working for someone else, entrepreneurs running their own business say that they are: