Innovative companies are expected to perform better in terms of overall turnover, their capacity to export goods, the quality of their services and organisational growth. Thus, the fact that young entrepreneurs are finding ways to make their businesses innovative is a good sign. However, there is still a lot of potential being lost. The conversion rate of 18-30 year olds that say they actively want set up their own company and those that actually do so is very low, especiallyin comparison to those aged 30 and over.Recent surveys have shown that this is mainly due to the lack of support for new businesses, the fear of failure, and not really knowing where to begin.
Starting a business for the first time can be incredibly intimidating. There is a huge difference between running a business where you are responsible for employees and being employed, or even going down the route of self-employment. This is why incubator programmes and tailored support is so integral to helping young businesses to succeed. Disrupt Inc. RBS Group said that‘the challenge is not only to encourage more young people to think about starting a new venture, but to bridge the gap between those aspirations and reality, and further, to make sure that those individuals who do start trading have the greatest opportunity for success.’ Thankfully our needs analysis has shown that there is a lot being done for young entrepreneurs at the moment, via both the government and private and voluntary organisations such as the Prince’s Trust, Shell LiveWire and Young Enterprise. The more we can support young people to develop their ideas and realise that failure is only a stepping stone to development, the more innovative businesses will be produced.
Posted by: One Planet Ventures
