According to City AM more young UK adults are considering embarking on entrepreneurship. This is based on a report by financial services firm Block. It reveals that 67% of 18–34-year-olds interviewed are interested in starting a business. This appears to be contrary to many recent  reports of a  decline in business confidence and rising job losses among UK SMEs. According to the Block report one in ten young people plan to launch a venture within the next year. There is, however, the usual major obstacle. That is the difficulty of raising traditional finance that is hindering their ambitions. It is claimed that, with 50,000 small firms denied loans annually, this has resulted in a £4bn economic loss.

iBOSS Comment:

The ambition to start and grow businesses is there, but many entrepreneurs still find the financial system stacked against them. Unfortunately this is a well-known problem that has existed for many years in the UK, made worse by the increasing tendency of the Main Banks to withdraw from Funding the start-up market. If you are one of these people considering entrepreneurship but would appreciate some professional advice then look no further than the Team at iBOSS. Call Phil on 07876 503830 or e-mail him at Phil@theiboss.co.uk and request one of our free, no-strings consultations or look around our web site www.theiboss.co.uk .

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Articles in the Mail, Express and the Times have all highlighted that a survey by insurance group Simply Business revealed that 17% of small businesses believe they would not survive a new lockdown. Not only that a total of 62% said they were less confident about their company’s long-term outlook. A meagre 5% of respondents think they would cope better.
If a company genuinely believes their business is really struggling, then one suspects that they must be already making plans to shelter their business through the storm. If not it maybe already too late.
In the particular case of SME’s battening down the hatches can often mean not spending any money on good advice or marketing. In the first instance the cost of good advice may very well end up saving you thousands or even your company and in the second if you don’t continue to market your business prudently your customers may very well already think you no longer are around!

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This week I sat in on a network meeting where Ruth Cozens from SEMLEP – South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership gave us an excellent update regarding a new grant-funding scheme. It launches this month to help SMEs recover from the impact of COVID-19. The £20m fund, will distribute grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 and will be administered by growth hubs led by Local Enterprise Partnerships. Understandably there will be huge interest and demand from SME’s. £20m does not go a long way these days!
At iBOSS we help SME’s the best way to start a business, turnaround a business or grow your business during difficult times.

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