Over half of British people eligible to work in the UK would like to run their own business (41%) or already are a business owner (10%).
Only 23% of those surveyed would prefer to be employed and the remaining 26% would start their own business but the conditions would need to be right before doing so.
It is a staggering statistic that less than a quarter of Britain’s working people are happier in direct employment than being self-employed.
Rounding up the year in statistics, there have been some fascinating finds throughout 2024.
January 2024
In January 2024, 56% of people (3.1 million) in business within the UK private sector were sole proprietors which equates to 56% of the total.
It should be noted that sole proprietors hire other freelancers with specific skills and expertise that they do not have to help with their business operation and growth whilst solopreneurs run and manage the business solely by themselves.
38% of people (2.1 million of the total) were working within actively trading companies and the remaining 6% (356,000 people) were in ordinary partnerships.
the UK private sector business population comprised 3.1 million sole proprietorships (56% of the total), 2.1 million actively trading companies (38%) and 356,000 ordinary partnerships (6%)
1.1 million companies were employers, as were 198,000 sole proprietorships and 86,000 ordinary partnerships
February 2024
There was much concern for business owners in February 2024 with varied reasons as to why.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of businesses reported some form
of concern for their business for February 2024
The concern felt by businesses caused a ripple effect onto customers who remained cautious buyers at the beginning of 2024 with many businesses pausing and waiting for others to make the first move.
March 2024
In his Spring Budget speech made on 6th March 2024, the then Chancellor, under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government, said he “will reduce the administrative and financial impact of VAT by increasing the VAT registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000 from 1st April 2024 – the first increase in 7 years.
By doing this, there will be tens of thousands of businesses that will be exempt from paying VAT and this should be encouragement for many to invest and grow.
April 2024
From April 6th, employees National Insurance was cut by 2p, from 10% to 8%.
The Class 1 National Insurance rates for most people for the 2024 to 2025 tax year are:
Your pay | From 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025 |
£242 to £967 a week (£1,048 to £4,189 a month) | 8% |
Over £967 a week (£4,189 a month) | 2% |
Self-employed national insurance was cut from 8% to 6%.
For the tax year 2024 to 2025 the self-employed will pay:
6% on profits of £12,570 up to £50,270
2% on profits over £50,270
May 2024
As the UK ‘emerged from ‘technical recession’, small businesses became more confident and believe their optimism was well placed and expected to outperform the UK economy in 2024.
A pro-growth partnership between the now Labour Government Treasury and small businesses was promised.
A study by FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) on the manifestos in which detailed policies that include business rates, late payments and access to finance would bring some good news to small businesses.
June 2024
NatWest’s key findings stated that London’s business activity grew the most and was ahead of Northern Ireland. The South West was the only other region recorded output rising at a faster rate.
The slowest and underperforming area in the UK was Yorkshire and Humber.
Nine out of twelve UK nations and regions demonstrated business growth in June 2024.
July 2024
The NHS, the cost is living, the economy, housing, crime, climate change and the environment remained a concern for most people in the UK.
A landslide victory in the General Selection saw Labour enter government and Sir Keir Starmer as the new Prime Minister.
The sharp rise in confidence from businesses indicates a belief that the new a government would help a positive economic outlook.
August 2024
The momentum for growth continued in August 2024 with costs at their lowest for three years.
GDP grew by 0.2%, having had no growth in the previous two months.
Sterling followed suit and shot to more than a one year high against the dollar.
Whilst France’s service sector was positively affected due to the Olympic Games, the UK still fared better economically than Europe.
September 2024
Small businesses received welcome news as the Government announced it is going to introduce measures to tackle late payers.
Although it will take time for small business and SMEs to benefit from the new regulations it might well save money with SMEs losing £22,000 on average and 50,000 businesses having to close down due to late payments.
Introducing a new Fair Payment Code shall encourage businesses to pay their suppliers in a timely manner and earning bronze, silver or gold status.
Legislation to ensure bigger business are more transparent about their payment practices which will be published in their annual reports (so they can’t drag their feet in paying smaller companies).
Existing laws will become more stringent and a consultation to take place with a view to enforcing payments due from larger companies to smaller companies with non compliance leading to criminal penalties.
October 2024
The Autumn budget under the new Labour government was a much talked about and anticipated event.
The hypotheses of what might be or not be, how it would be good or bad for some and not others and generally putting the world to rights, the Labour government’s first budget was enough to get people (for their personal interest) or business owners sign up in their thousands to webinars and forums to dissect and analyse what the results actually mean for people and businesses.
FSB put together their summary analysis of how the Autumn budget affects small businesses which covers Employment Allowance, Employment National Insurance, National Living Wage, Company Directors, Business Rates, Entrepreneurs’ Relief, Capital Gains Tax, Corporate Tax, Fuel Duty, Alcohol Duty, Infrastructure, Inheritance Tax and Devolution Payments.
November 2024
The misplaced predictions and inaccurate exit polls saw the Democrats a little red faced as Donald Trump was cited as the favourite and took office again.
Whilst it might be too early to guess how UK business might be affected by the US election result, it is mostly agreed that the global uncertainty is something which concerns a number of clued up people.
The Bank of England’s interest was cut by 0.25 points, standing now at 4.75%, and whilst it was done to reduce the pressure in borrowing for UK businesses and individuals alike, inflation is likely to rise by the middle of 2025.
The world’s largest business show, spanning two days, was hosted in London at the ExCeL for its 50th edition.
It focused on encouraging approximately 25,000 SME, start-up owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to start or grow their business.
Advice and guidance was given through keynote speeches delivered by a range of global organisations such as Microsoft, Google and LinkedIn.
December 2024
With retail being the star of the show this month, UK businesses in retail will be doing all they can to get a good ROI (Return on Investment) and have been doing so by maximising their advertising spend for the upcoming festive period.
Companies were reported to have planned to spend a whopping £10.5bn on campaigns with an increasing number being shown on digital channels.
The festive period brings with it bigger and better advertising campaigns, each vying for position with gimmicks that can be bought as a memento (excitable Edgar and Monty the Penguin came from John Lewis).
This year, the campaigns have started and include famous celebrities such as Dawn French, returning to M&S, the spirit of Christmas being saved by a carrot called Kevin at Aldi and the Christmas pudding crime at Waitrose.
Every year, the adverts are talked about, with differing opinions of which is better and was it better than last year’s.
Retailers hope that, through storytelling and making emotional connections, the viewers of their ad campaigns will be compelled to buy into their brand and messaging.
The power of advertising is strong.
People often buy through emotion.
Put the two together, particularly during periods that focus on families, and retailers may have a point.
We shall, in time, see if Christmas has had any effect in the UK’s economy.
Fascinatingly, the trend of AI with future predictions of it being even more of a necessity going into 2025 and beyond, it hasn’t quite hit the mark this time…
Everyone has their ‘favourite’ Christmas advert and Coca-Cola’s annual ‘Holidays are Coming’ has always been a memorable one for me.
This year’s Coca-Cola advert has received much criticism from regular fans with the fully AI generated sequence creating a “soulless” and “emotionless” unreality.
Ironically, “it’s always the real thing” has clearly been lost this year to Coca-Cola so I shall leave you to enjoy the original 1995 advert here with a challenge to not sing or hum the jingle within the next few hours of watching it.
If you would like to discuss how your business can grow and develop in the next 12 months with the highly effective support you deserve, please get in touch.
Anna
Sources:
Brimco: Business Statistics to know
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