Business RSS News: Fear of failure holds back budding entrepreneurs

Fear of failure holds back budding entrepreneurs More than one in three would-be entrepreneurs say they think about starting a business every day, but 78% are afraid they’ll fail.

These are the findings of a survey of 1,000 would-be entrepreneurs by the Business is GREAT campaign. It found that 39% think about starting a business every day but hadn’t taken any steps to realise their dreams.

The research found that the 18-24 year olds were most preoccupied with thoughts of starting a business, with 52% of this group saying that they think about starting a business most days. Only 24% of the 55+ age group had the same ambitions.

These are no pipe dreams, according to the research. It found that 41% of respondents said starting a business would be a greater achievement for them than raising a family; and 63% said it was one of their greatest ambitions.

But a number of barriers to starting up are holding back these potential entrepreneurs:

78% cited fear of failure;

70% said they lacked a mentor;

60% lacked inspiration;

60% said they needed more advice;

69% said finance was a problem;

50% were concerned about finding premises;

37% said they didn’t have support from their family.

When asked about their motivations for starting up, flexibility (98%), happiness (91%), freedom (92%), the lack of a boss (95%) and the desire to feel successful (90%) were key motivators, while money (83%) came a little further down the list for most of the respondents.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “Over two million new businesses have launched since 2010 and I want to encourage all would-be entrepreneurs to visit the GREAT Business website and benefit from the wealth of advice and support that’s out there. I look forward to seeing more inspirational small businesses develop their dreams into a reality.”