New research by FreeAgent has found that 64% of Brits have plans to start their own business in the future –significantly up from the 51% who said the same in last year's poll
The survey, conducted by accounting software firm FreeAgent, has found that two in three Brits (64%) plan to start their own business at some point in the future - over 10% higher than last years' survey (51%). More than one in ten (11%) plan to break out on their own in 2022 and a further fifth (21%) plan to do so in the next few years.
The findings also show that 49% of respondents say they have had to push back their timelines for starting their own business because of the pandemic. However, 27% of respondents said Covid-19 had actually moved their business plans forward and 24% said the pandemic hasn't affected their plans at all.
Younger respondents appear to be the most entrepreneurial, with 80% of those aged between 18-34 revealing they have always dreamt of starting their own business at some point in their lives. However, other age groups also show entrepreneurial intentions, with 60% of 35-54 years-olds and 33% of over-55s saying they harbour plans to start their own business.
The main motivation for these would-be entrepreneurs is work-life balance, cited by 47% of respondents. Interestingly, the main drivers in 2020 were being able to choose what work they do (for 42%) and being able to earn more money (36%).
This year, the main motivations for starting a business, after work-life balance, are:
Almost a third (30%) of respondents said that they would like to fit work around their family commitments - significantly higher for female respondents (35% compared to 24% of male respondents).
Despite their ambitions, however, 90% of those polled admitted that they do have concerns about running a business. Top worries are:
The research has actually highlighted ongoing confusion around Making Tax Digital (MTD). A worrying 82% of respondents said they are unaware of the upcoming 2024 deadline for MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA), which will require self-employed people, sole traders and landlords that have income over £10,000, to use digital software to manage their finances and file their tax returns.
This provides a great opportunity for Accountants to increase their business as they are ideally placed to provide the proper tools, knowledge and assistance that this new generation of entrepreneurs will need to be successful.
ACCA will be bringing more resources together for practitioners to prepare and help their clients on the MTD journey and we have partnered with Sage to bring you this recording of a webinar in which experts from Sage and an ACCA member in practice discuss what they believe are the most important areas in preparing for MTD for ITSA.
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