With successful female role models such as Arianna Huffington and Karen Brady its no wonder that so many UK mums want to follow in their footsteps. However a recent survey carried out found that there are three top challenges that UK mumpreneurs believe are stopping them from pursuing their business dreams.
The top three reasons that UK mums gave for not starting a business were;
1. It seemed like too big of a risk
This is a completely natural fear of starting your own business felt by anyone giving up the security of their day job and going solo. For mumpreneurs the risk can often seem that bit greater as there is the financial security of your family to take into consideration. As long as you’ve done the legwork beforehand and are well informed about the steps you need to take to help your business take off, then the benefits in the long run should far out weigh the risks.
2. Not knowing how to get started
Knowledge is power. Before you jump into starting a business of your own make sure you understand the steps you’ll need to take to get started and what you’ll need to do to be successful. There is a lot of usful information available online such as this simple 6 step plan to getting started with your business from the Entrepreneur. The government website also has a lot of useful information with regards to registering your business.
3. The admin and financial aspects involved
The survey found that 22% of UK mums who own a business said that one of the main challenges they faced when starting out was finding a bank who’d support them financially. Many found that the flexibility of the financial service provider was not enough and as a result 38% commented that they had found the process of setting up a business bank account long and slow. Not ideal for a busy mum with a business to run!
This week I found out about APS financial who are able to offer small businesses the opportunity to get their current accounts set up within less than 10 minutes of starting the application! Brilliant news for mumpreneurs across the UK who will be able to get trading faster. So far they have helped almost 80,000 start-up businesses of which nearly a quarter were female entrepreneurs. APS financial also provide businesses access to finance through a range of credit products and overdrafts, lending up to £2,000, which can help fund the cost of starting up a business.
APS finance said;
“We should be empowering all small businesses, but especially mothers working to set up a business to thrive in our economy by offering fast, easy ways to open up bank accounts and manage cashflow, not throwing up barriers. It is worrying to think that it is fears about admin and financial hassle that stops entrepreneurial mothers going it alone and our experience shows that grassroots entrepreneurs don’t need traditional banks to ‘bank’.”
This is really positive news for mumprenures across the UK, APS financial helping to reduce the financial worries of setting up a business will allow small businesses to put their energy into getting started!
Are you a mum in the UK looking to set up a first time business? Will this financial reassurance encourage you to take the first step?
Brilliant article. Very helpful!