Cloud accountancy firm expects 234,990 Scots to start their own business in 2018

New research released conducted by an Edinburgh-based cloud accounting software provider has found that more Brits than ever before want to start their own business in 2018.

The survey of 1,000 working British people, carried out by FreeAgent, found that one in ten working Scots intend to start their own business within the next 12 months.

With over 2.6 million people currently working in Scotland, according to ONS statistics, that would mean 234,990 more Scots are expected to become their own boss before the start of 2019.

While almost one in ten of working Scots aim to become self-employed by the end of 2018, 9 per cent said they would like to work for themselves by the end of 2019, and 1 per cent by the end of 2020.

Over a quarter (28 per cent) said they want to start their own business at some point, but don’t yet have any concrete plans to do so.

FreeAgent found that the top three reasons for wanting to start a business were:

While the top three concerns around setting up a business were:

Notably, more women than men plan to set up their own business in 2018 (13 per cent in comparison to 9 per cent of men). And overall, 52 per cent women dream of becoming their own boss in comparison with 46 per cent of their male counterparts.

Of the younger age groups surveyed, 57 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 57 per cent of 25-34 year olds said that they planned to become their own boss at some point. By comparison, 54 per cent of 35-44 year olds, 45 per cent of 45-54 year olds and 39 per cent of over 55 year olds, said they wanted to start their own business.

Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said: “Starting your own business can be an extremely rewarding, if daunting, move for people to make with their career. The desire for a better work/life balance and the ability to choose the type of work they perform are key reasons for many people who want to start a business - it’s interesting to see that the younger generations are the most driven to become their own boss.

“It’s so important for any new business owner to make sure they are fully prepared before they start up. One of the main reasons that new businesses fail is because they cannot maintain a healthy cash flow, so drawing up a detailed business plan and staying on top of your finances is key if you want to make your venture a success.”