British women want to start their own business, survey shows

Over 50 per cent of British women would like to give up their job and become self-employed, according to new research.

The survey, which was conducted on behalf of the Start Up Loans Company, highlighted the main reasons why women would like to run their own business and identified the top business sectors in self-employment.

Reasons

Flexibility, working for themselves, and turning hobbies into careers were found to be the top reasons for why women wish to start their own business.

A quarter of survey respondents said that they wanted to become self-employed as a result of being unhappy in their current job, whilst 16 per cent said that owning a business had been their childhood dream.

Many respondents (40 per cent) said that they had thought about becoming self-employed within the past few years.

The survey also found that most employed women in the UK would be satisfied with an average salary of £25,132 in their first year of self-employment.

The top sectors in self-employment were also identified, with creative arts and entertainment being the most popular, followed by food and retail.

More action

Commenting on the research, Start Up Loans Company CEO Tim Sawyer said: “This growing surge in ambition among the country’s female population is brilliant for UK trade, and shows that the gender divide in business is quickly narrowing.”

However, he added that the majority of women are still not confident about making the break into self-employment.

He said more action needs to be taken to “change these attitudes and demonstrate to more women that they can realise their business dreams.”