Why do people choose to start their own business?
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According to a 2012 Dun & Bradstreet study the majority (56 per cent) started their businesses to take advantage of a business opportunity, while 20 per cent had no better choices for work and 22 per cent cited both these reasons.
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Where respondents reported that they had started the business to pursue a business opportunity, the main reasons for this were to:
- Make more money and be their own boss (38%)
- To follow a passion/challenge (35%)
- To get better working conditions (15%)
- Because they saw a demand/market for their product/service (12%)
Other reasons included joining the family business, wanted more control over their future, tired of working for someone else, were downsized or laid off.
Where respondents said that they had had no better choice for work, the main reasons for this were that they could not find a job that suited their skills (27 per cent), that they were made redundant (15 per cent) or otherwise lost their job (13 per cent), or that they did not like the working conditions in their previous job (15 per cent).
Just over half (52 per cent) of these founders were working as an employee of another business when they started their own; 24 per cent were running another business; 13 per cent were self-employed; and seven per cent were unemployed.
Source: Dun & Bradstreet 2012 Small Business Survey – Employers Report