As covid-19 continues to damage the UK economy, the country’s younger generation are choosing to take matters into their own hands and go it alone, a poll has revealed.
The major poll released today covers over 2000 adults and shows that one in seven (15%) young people in the UK have plans to start their own business in 2021.
If all polled carry out their plans, a record breaking 800,000 Gen Z businesses would pop up this year.
Ed Surman, Managing Director of Mushroombiz who commission the poll said: “Young people leaving school and university are rejecting the shrinking job market to take back control of their futures from covid-19.”
According to OBR estimates, the UK unemployment rate will peak at 7.5% in the middle of 2021.
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Surman said: “This reality has forced many young people to re-evaluate their futures and become their own boss.
“A huge uptick in the number of tech start-ups, passion projects and side hustles started in university dorm rooms in the latter half of 2020.”
Students are hoping startups offer a bright future
Lucy Fisher is one such entrepreneur. With plans to launch her business, ‘Knit It’ in 2021, Lucy has decided to take her career into her own hands and run her own business. With her idea already live, Lucy hopes to fully develop her platform for digital knitting patterns this year.
Lucy said: “I’ve always wanted to be in control of my career. Even from just watching shows like the apprentice I’ve always wanted to be the person that has an idea and turns it into a product to sell.”
When talking about the possible effects of covid-19 on her business plans this year, Lucy felt confident.
“A lot of our market has increased because of it. People are at home looking for things to do. So it worked out well, in a bad way that it shouldn’t have, but it has.
“There’s a great number of online workshops and classes I’ve been able to attend that I wouldn’t normally be able to, so the support I’ve gotten from that has really accelerated what I’ve been able to do.”
Lucy was a part of the Robert Gordon University Start-up Accelerator course where she received support with everything from finance to market research.
As people have come to terms with the pandemic, the number of companies being created in the second half of 2020 in the UK soared in comparison with 2019.
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A poll carried out by Yonder also found that around one-in-five (19%) young people (18-24) considered starting their own business for the first time last year.
The poll shows that across all age groups, twice as many men as women plan to start their own business this year. 9% of men and 4% of women as well as 21% of Londoners are planning to become their own boss in 2021.
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