The Swansea Bay City Region was found to have to the highest percentage of entrepreneurs of any region in the UK outside of London.
The study, which analysed ONS data to reveal the most entrepreneurial regions in the UK, found that there are 50,000 self employed workers in the region, which makes up 16.1% of the total working population. This percentage was only higher in the Greater London Authority with 18.6%, which translates to 864,000 self-employed workers.
The West of England ranks third, where 14.9% of workers are self-employed. This city region which includes Bristol as its biggest city has 74,000 self-employed workers from a total of 422,000.
Oliver Prill, CEO at Tide, the business financial platform that commissioned the study, said : “Taking the step into entrepreneurship is a big one, and I am always impressed by the number of people who are keen to leap into the unknown and give it a go, particularly in the last year, when we have seen an unprecedented number of new businesses emerge. It’s a very difficult step to take though, and as the data shows, not all start-ups make it.
Mr Prill adds that there are a number of steps that new business owners can take to increase their chances of success. He says that before quitting your day job to start a business, you should try to run your business alongside your job. While, he says, this can be exhausting, it gives you the opportunity to see if the business can generate an income without the financial pressure.
When you’re ready to take the plunge and dedicate all your time to your business, Mr Prill suggests you take the time to assess how to use your time most effectively.
"The admin side of running a business is time consuming, but there are services, like Tide, out there to lighten the burden," he added.
Finally he says fail fast.
"If something isn’t working, don’t waste time and energy trying to make it work, be agile and try something new. The beauty of starting your own business is that you have the freedom to take in the direction you want.”
