Entrepreneurial nuggets of wisdom and stats to provide food for thought. This was first published in Business Strategy Review, Volume 24, Issue 3 - 2013. Subscribe today to receive your quarterly copy delivered to your home or work place. http://bit.ly/BSR-subscribe

1. ENTREPRENEURIAL TIME
Entrepreneurial nuggets of wisdom
and stats to provide food for thought.
NUGGETS
INC.
142
national benchmarks
4.6 million
There were
4.6 million
microbusinesses in
the UK in 2012
(businesses
with 0-9
employees),
accounting
for £624bn in
turnover and
96% of all
businesses.
Source: House
of Commons
Library business
statistics –
www.parliament.
uk/briefing-papers/
SN06152
The number of nations who had their Entrepreneurship and
Opportunity performance assessed as part of the 2012
Legatum Prosperity Index, a global benchmark of wealth
and wellbeing. The Entrepreneurship and Opportunity
sub-index looked at entrepreneurial environment,
innovative activity, and access to opportunity, in particular.
Denmark (1) and Sweden (2) led the ranking. The UK
was 6th, the US 12th, China 66th and India 99th.
1 billion
ready, steady, go!
For many of the top ten billionaires in the Forbes list of
billionaires, starting their own business or buying one (as
opposed to inheriting one, or working for someone else)
was a significant factor in their accumulation of wealth.
That includes Carlos Slim Helú, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison,
Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffett and Li Ka-shing.
Source: www.forbes.com/billionaires/list
91.1%
Desirable career choice
Entrepreneurship appears a popular career choice in
Africa – possibly out of necessity rather than choice. In
2010, nine out of ten 18-to-64 year olds in Ghana agreed
with the statement that in their country, most people
consider starting a business as a desirable career choice.
Compared with 65.4% in the US, and 51% in the UK.
Source: www.gemconsortium.org – Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Source: www.prosperity.com
32%
Risky business
“The
overwhelming
majority of
successful
innovations
exploit change.”
Peter Drucker
=100,000
Entrepreneurs are stereotypically risk takers. But, the
current trends are towards hoarding rather than investing.
A total of 32% of UK entrepreneurs are stockpiling assets
or retaining cash according to Deloitte’s 2012 survey.
Source: Deloitte Entrepreneurship UK 2012/2013
09
holiday blues
The life of an entrepreneur may sound idyllic to some.
Deciding when you come into work. Taking time off when
you feel like it. The reality is a little less rosy. Take holidays,
for example: the average entrepreneur in the UK takes
just nine days holiday during their first year in business.
Source: Barclays. Starting up in 2009: a comparison to the experience 1999
16 BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW ISSUE 3 – 2013

2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP THE NUMBERS
28%
Sizable forecasts
196,651
When asked how did their actual revenue grow over
the last year 32% of entrepreneurs said it was in line
with forecasts; 30% were only 5% out either way;
but a sizeable 28% got it wrong by more than 5%.
In fact, 14% under-performed by more than 5%.
Source: Deloitte Entrepreneurship UK 2012/2013
30% Not better off
71% More optimistic
Busier
63%
81%
Happier
Compared to when they were working for someone else,
entrepreneurs running their own business say that they are:
Source: Starting up in 2009: a comparison to the experience 1999
44%
Survival rates
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted, but the
start-up survival rate is better than the often quoted five
or so per cent. The number of UK start-ups managing to
make it past the first five years is a little under a half.
Source: www.ons.gov.uk
12%
training hard
The number
of businesses
set up in the
UK in 2013,
as at 15 May,
according
to StartUp
Britain's
StartUp
Tracker tool.
The tool
supplies daily
monthly and
yearly figures
on business
start-ups in
the UK (with
up to a couple
of days delay).
Source: www.
startupbritain.co
= 4,370
11.6%
male start-ups
Despite talk of an upsurge of female entrepreneurs it is
still the case that more men than women start their own
business. The percentage of the male 18-64 population who
are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a
new business in the UK in 2012, for example, was just over
one in ten (11.6%); for women the percentage was 6.3%.
Source: www.gemconsortium.org - Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
46%
Incompetent failure
Finance, insurance and real-estate. These are the
industries to be in if you want the best prospect of startup survival according to research by the University of
Tennessee, with 58% still going after four years, compared
to 37% in information technology. The main reason for
failure – incompetence (46%).
Source: www.statisticbrain.com/startup-failure-by-industry
“Entrepreneurs
are simply those
who understand
that there is
little difference
between obstacle
and opportunity
and are able to
turn both to
their advantage.”
Niccolo Machiavelli
Of those countries classed as having innovation-driven
entrepreneurs, which includes the UK, Japan and Germany,
for example, just 12% on average of the working age
population had received in-school start-up training.
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Special Report
on Entrepreneurship Education and Training 2010
www.london.edu/bsr BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW 17