the heart of home business britain

Transcription

INSPIRED BY
THE HEART
OF HOME
BUSINESS
BRITAIN
EXPLORING
THE UK’S HOME
BUSINESS ECONOMY
HOME BUSINESS 100 03
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
CONTENTS
03
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
04
FOREWORD
08 CHAPTER 1
THE BIG PICTURE
12
EXPERT VIEW:
MIKE CHERRY,
FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES
14 CHAPTER 2
THE HOTSPOTS
22 CHAPTER 3
THE EXPERIENCE
26
EXPERT VIEW:
PAUL LINDLEY, ELLA’S KITCHEN
29
ABOUT VONAGE & HOME BUSINESS 100
30
MEET THE HOME BUSINESS 100
This report maps the UK’s home business population,
exploring the size and economic contribution of home
businesses, their demographic and regional distribution,
and the motivations of the people who set up and run
companies from home. Key findings include:
MOST UK BUSINESSES
ARE HOME BUSINESSES
There are over 2.75 million home businesses in the UK today,
over 52% of the UK’s total business population and a 23%
increase over the past decade. Approximately one in 11 UK
workers is running a home business and the sector supports
an estimated 3.3 million jobs.
HOME BUSINESSES ARE A MAJOR
ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTOR
Home businesses are contributing an estimated £94bn gross
value added, 5.6% of the country’s total. The total annual
revenue of home businesses is projected to be £212bn
in 2016.
HOME BUSINESSES ARE
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL
OF KEY DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the survey that supports this report, a majority
of home businesses are run by over-55s, and a third by
women (compared to 22% of all small businesses).
Home businesses have a key role in both unlocking the
potential of the UK’s ageing workforce and in improving
the representation of women-owned businesses.
HOME BUSINESSES THRIVE
WHERE THE ECONOMY NEEDS
THEM MOST
As a share of the total business population, home businesses
are most strongly represented in regions where overall
growth is below the UK average. Wales and the North East
are the only two areas where over 60% of all businesses
are home-based; they have also been two of the three
slowest growing areas in the UK over the last decade.
TECHNOLOGY IS ENABLING
HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS
Improved access to technology is lowering the barriers
to home business creation, with more home businesses
operating in the IT & Telecoms sector than any other.
HOME BUSINESSES NEED MORE
COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT
Home businesses identify isolation and a lack of support
as among the main challenges they face; more
comprehensive mentoring and business support provision
could further unlock the potential of the home
business sector.
04 THE HEART OF HOME BUSINESS BRITAIN
FOREWORD
SIMON BURCKHARDT
MANAGING DIRECTOR, VONAGE UK
In recent years, we have witnessed a huge shift in the UK economy,
towards entrepreneurship and business ownership as an emerging norm.
The UK has never had a bigger business population and small businesses
are driving growth and opportunity right across the economy.
What’s more, many of the million-plus new businesses
created since the 2008 recession are being run from people’s
homes. Home-based businesses can no longer be seen as a
marginal sector of the economy; today, as this report shows,
they make up a majority of the total business population.
Over two and three quarter million people are running a
home business in the UK, contributing an annual £94bn
in GVA to the economy.
These businesses are an essential and under-appreciated
foundation of our modern economy. Right across the country
and in a broad range of sectors, home businesses are creating
value, supporting employment and giving people the
flexibility to make a living on their own terms.
Home businesses contribute £94bn annually
to the UK economy
At Vonage, we are committed to supporting and enabling
the success of the nation’s businesses, from home-based sole
traders to multi-location enterprises. Many of our customers
are home businesses, and as a former small business owner
myself, I understand the day-to-day challenges and realities
of making it work as an emerging enterprise.
We also understand that major changes in business
communications are powering the shift in the UK’s workforce
towards home business ownership. “Where” or “how”
someone chooses to work (desk phone, soft phone, mobile
phone, tablet) is irrelevant. Cloud communications offers
the flexibility and mobility to maintain a business presence
anytime, anywhere, from any device. Cloud communications
providers like Vonage offer small business owners solutions
that enable them to work from a home office and benefit
from leading edge services that help them do business better.
To reflect our commitment to supporting UK businesses, we
have created and brought together the Home Business 100,
a new community inspired by Vonage to spotlight the stories,
successes and experiences of home business owners. Many
of their stories are reflected in this report, which — supported
by research from Cebr — explores the UK’s home business
economy to reveal its breadth, depth and character.
Major changes in business communications
are underpinning the home business trend
What we have found is that home businesses are not just
hugely significant as an aggregate economic contributor,
but in the areas and demographics whose potential they
help unlock. The research outlined in this report shows how
home businesses are helping underpin growth in areas where
the business population is below average. It suggests that a
high proportion of the nation’s home business owners are
near or past retirement age, and that the sector may have an
important role to play in tapping the skills and experience
of the ageing workforce. Our conversations with Home
Business 100 members show that many are attracted by the
flexibility that home business ownership offers, but also in
search of greater support, advice and mentoring for what can
be an isolating way of working.
The picture this reports paints is of a community of
businesses with a wide imprint across the UK economy,
and a diverse representation across regions, sectors and
demographics. Home businesses are thriving and with
improved support this already vibrant sector can grow still
further. We hope that this report reinforces just how prevalent
and important home businesses are, and shows anyone who
might be considering starting up themselves that they would
be in good company.
HOME BUSINESS
BRITAIN
IN NUMBERS
WHICH IS A
THERE ARE 2.75 MILLION
HOME BUSINESSES
IN THE UK TODAY
52.5%
23% INCREASE
OF UK
BUSINESSES
ARE HOME
BUSINESSES
OVER THE LAST DECADE
52%
IT AND
TELECOMS
IS THE MOST COMMON
HOME BUSINESS SECTOR
62%
67%
OF HOME BUSINESS
OWNERS HOLD
A UNIVERSITY DEGREE
OF HOME BUSINESSES
ARE RUN BY MEN
33%
3.3mn
ARE RUN BY WOMEN
JOBS SUPPORTED BY THE
HOME BUSINESS SECTOR
ARE OWNED BY OVER-55s
£212bn
ESTIMATED TOTAL
ANNUAL REVENUE OF
UK HOME BUSINESSES
ONE IN 11 WORKERS IN THE UK IS RUNNING A HOME BUSINESS
11.5%
65%
OF HOME BUSINESS
OWNERS EMPLOY AT LEAST
ONE STAFF MEMBER
OF ALL BUSINESSES
IN THE NORTH EAST
ARE HOME BUSINESSES
THE AVERAGE
ANNUAL REVENUE FOR
A HOME BUSINESS IS:
£77,000
Figures based on Cebr analysis and a YouGov survey of 532 UK home businesses
CHAPTER ONE
HOME BUSINESS BRITAIN
THE BIG
PICTURE
Business ownership has never been more popular or
prevalent across the UK. Government figures show that,
as of the beginning of 2015, there were a record 5.4
million companies operating.1 Hundreds of thousands of
new companies are now registered every year, and the
business population has boomed by an estimated
1.9 million since the turn of the century.2
At the heart of that trend has been the rise of the home
business. As the technology to start and run a business has
become increasingly accessible and affordable, an evergrowing number of people are choosing to make their own
way as business owners. Most of them are choosing to do so
from the comfort of their own home. Research conducted for
this report shows that there are now over 2.75 million home
businesses operating across the UK, a 23% increase over the
last decade.
Home businesses account for over half of the UK’s total
enterprise stock. They are a sizeable and significant
component of the UK’s changing economy, as career patterns
change, the workforce ages and self-employment becomes
mainstream. They play an essential and sometimes unsung
role in delivering value and unlocking potential across
the economy.
The home business population has grown
by 23% since 2006
The millions of people who are running companies from
the kitchen table, the garage and the spare bedroom are an
increasingly important part of the UK’s present and future
economy. As home businesses proliferate, they deserve to be
more clearly defined and better understood.
Since the 2008 recession, and the upsurge of business
creation that followed, there has been much focus on the
rise of start-ups and small businesses in the UK. Britain’s
entrepreneurial culture, and increasing supply of fast-growth
young companies, has rightly been hailed as a major net
contributor to the nation’s above-average growth rates.
The home business population has been on the rise for
well over a decade, with the overall number having risen in
every year since 2001. In those 15 years, over 900,000 home
businesses have been created, a net increase of 49%
(Figure 1, overleaf).
Home businesses have been responsible
for 45% of net business creation since 2000
The growth of the home business sector has been part of
the wider enterprise upsurge; they are responsible for an
estimated 45% of total net business creation since 2000,
which Government figures estimate at 1.9 million.3
Moreover, home businesses are growing not just as a whole,
but as a share of the total UK workforce. An estimated one in
every 11 workers is running a home business, with the sector
having grown at above the rate of overall employment over
the last two decades.
Home businesses have proliferated for many of the same
reasons as the wider small business population: the
economic upheaval that resulted from the financial crisis of
2008; the falling costs and rising availability of the technology
needed to start and run an enterprise; and a combination
of Government support and the increasing profile of
entrepreneurship as a career choice.
Home businesses are an important and distinctive part of
that story, one that needs to be better told. What is home
business Britain today, who is powering it and why does
it matter? Those are questions this report will seek to
answer, building a clearer picture of the UK home business
population and the unique role it plays in a fast-changing
economic landscape.
2.75 MILLION:
NUMBER OF H
BUSINESSES INOME
THE UK TODAY
P08 HOME BUSINESS 100
HOME BUSINESSES: A GROWTH STORY
HOME BUSINESSES R
ACCOUNT FOR OVEAL
HALF THE UK’S TOTTION
BUSINESS POPULA
Lisa and Ian McCartney, PLYT
CASE STUDY
HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY
LUCY WOODHOUSE & MERIEL KEHOE,
CLAUDI & FIN
2,716,400
2,750,800
2016
2,320,800
2011
2015
2,288,800
2010
2,436,300
2,275,200
2009
2013
2,250,100
2008
2,425,300
2,239,100
2007
2012
2,242,700
2006
1,000,000
2,161,200
1,500,000
2,115,000
Home businesses, therefore, play a fundamental part in
creating jobs and economic value, one comparable with
some of the most important sectors of the overall economy.
Chapter 2 will explore the role of home businesses further,
looking at the regions, sectors and demographics in which
home businesses are predominant, and revealing their
importance to key areas of the economy.
2,042,700
2,000,000
1,911,900
Home businesses support an estimated
3.3 million jobs
1,841,600
2,500,000
2,668,400
3,000,000
500,000
2014
2005
2004
2003
2002
0
2001
Moreover, home businesses may be unlocking the potential
of those who might otherwise be out of work. Almost 24%
of home business owners surveyed for this report said they
believed they would be unemployed if they did not have their
business; extrapolated to the whole sector, that suggests
home businesses are supporting hundreds of thousand
of jobs that might not otherwise exist.
Stocked in major retailers and with
new products on the way, Lucy is
feeling optimistic about the future.
“Believe in your product,” Lucy
advises, “Parts of the journey will be
unexpected, some challenging and
maybe even scary – but if you have
that belief then you will convince
others, you will succeed and you
will love it.”
FIGURE 1 – NUMBER OF UK HOME BUSINESSES, BY YEAR
1,893,800
Since 2008, the home business population has grown by
over half a million, an increase of 22%. As the UK economy
increasingly becomes one defined by business ownership,
people running companies from home have played a central
part in driving that trend.
Home businesses are also, while mostly without staff,
playing a significant role in supporting UK employment.
With just over 11% employing one or more people, the
sector is responsible for an estimated 3.3 million jobs. By
this measure, more people are working in the home business
sector than in the UK manufacturing industry (2.6 million)8,
construction (2.1 million)9 or financial services (1.1 million).10
2000
Into this improving climate for business creation, came a
huge pool of people displaced by the effects of the financial
crash. According to Aston Business School’s Enterprise
Research Centre, 13 million jobs were lost from the private
sector between 2008 and 2014, from businesses that either
folded or cut staff numbers. In the same time period,
13.4 million jobs were created, with almost 30% the
result of new businesses being started.5
The estimated economic contribution of home businesses,
based on Gross Value Added (GVA, which measures the
value of goods and services produced by individual
sectors and areas of the economy), is £94bn, or 5.6% of the
country’s total. On this basis, home businesses are making
an economic contribution in line with some of the UK’s
most significant industry sectors: more than the creative
industries, and three quarters that of financial and insurance
services (which had GVA of £84bn6 and £124.4bn7
in 2014 respectively).
Lucy and Meriel started out testing
recipes in their own kitchens.
Launching the business at home gave
them extra time and the flexibility
to look after their children and chief
taste testers, Claudia and Fin. It
also eased the financial pressure,
particularly vital in the early days:
“We had every belief that Claudi & Fin
would work but we didn’t want to put
any more pressure on ourselves than
we needed to,” she says. It was only
when the business got bigger – two
years after it was started – that Claudi
& Fin felt the impetus to move out of
home and into an office.
It was a trip to New York that started
Lucy Woodhouse and Meriel Kehoe
on the journey to frozen yogurt
success. “When I got back from the
U.S., I stood in a supermarket aisle
and wondered why there were no
frozen yogurt options and that’s
where the idea came from — wanting
to create something new, something
different,” Lucy says. That was in
2012. Four years later, Claudi & Fin
Greek-style frozen yogurt lollies are
available across the UK in more than
1200 stores, with more than 1.25
million lollies sold to date.
1,876,100
A new company can be registered in 24 hours
and at a cost of £12
As home businesses grow in number, their role in driving
value and employment across the UK economy only grows.
Cebr research for this report shows that the average annual
revenue for a UK home business is £77,000, and the sector as
a whole generates annual revenue of £212 billion.
1999
From a cost and ease perspective, it has never been cheaper
or simpler to start up a business. A new company can be
registered in 24 hours and at a cost of £12. The cost of
a broadband connection has also been falling at pace,
with Ofcom showing that the average monthly spend on
residential broadband fell by 71% between 2000 and 2012.4
The growth of platforms from Amazon to eBay and Gumtree
has created channels for people to easily reach customers.
In parallel with improved availability of technology has come
better access to information and advice.
HOME BUSINESSES: WHY THEY MATTER
Inspired by a trip to New York, frozen yoghurt
manufacturer Claudi & Fin has now topped
a million sales
1,918,900
OF THE COMPA
CREATED IN T NIES
SINCE 2000 HHE UK
HOME BUSINE AVE BEEN
SSES
1998
42%
Source: Survey of over 500 home businesses, Cebr analysis
EXPERT VIEW
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL
OF HOME BUSINESS BRITAIN
MIKE CHERRY
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES
At the heart of the UK’s record-breaking business population, more
and more people are choosing to start and run a business from home.
It is not hard to see why the home business sector is on the
rise: it has never been easier to start a business nor, with the
rise of digital platforms and technology, to find and reach
customers. Moreover, with the costs saved on commuting,
office rental and business rates, running a business from
home makes financial sense for an increasing number of
people looking to maximise their skills as a sole trader or
small business owner.
Home-based businesses are a major economic contributor
for the UK and they are an employment creator, including for
those who benefit from the extra flexibility of working from
home. The proportion of women-led businesses is higher
amongst home-based businesses than the small business
population as a whole, helping unlock some of the significant
untapped potential that exists for a higher level of female
entrepreneurship.
Home businesses matter and their importance will only
grow over time as numbers increase. Yet barriers to their
success remain and there is more than can be done to
support home-based businesses, building on the positive
moves Government has already made. In recent years, we
have seen updated guidance that makes it easier for people
to run a business from a rented home, and clarification that
home businesses should generally not be subject to planning
permission or business rates.
Now we believe there are three areas in which Government
can go further in supporting home-based businesses.
The first relates to improving digital connectivity, so
important to the success of all businesses in today’s market.
Government promises that have been made, including for
fibre-optic broadband to be installed as standard in new
housing developments, and a Universal Service Obligation
giving people the right to request a decent and affordable
broadband connection, now need to be followed through.
There is also work to do on awareness, with FSB research
from 2015 finding that only 36% of small businesses were
aware of the availability of superfast broadband in their area.
Tax simplification is the second area in which home-based
businesses can be better supported. FSB has already been
working with Government to stop plans that would have
moved many home-based businesses with modest turnovers
onto mandatory quarterly tax reporting, and there is more to
do to design a tax system that works for the self-employed. In
particular, those running home businesses as self-employed
sole traders face unlimited liability, with personal assets,
including their home, at risk. Reducing some of this liability
should be a priority as part of a tax system that supports
small business.
There are areas in which Government can go
further to support home-based businesses
Finally, consideration needs to be given to the wider business
support environment for home-based businesses. For people
running a business from home, access to support networks,
mentoring and advice can be one of the most important
things. Shared workspaces are an important part of this, yet
are currently heavily concentrated in areas such as London,
Manchester and Brighton. Government could intervene by
cutting business rates that form a significant part of the
operating costs of many of these spaces, thereby encouraging
their proliferation across all the regions of the UK.
In summary, home-based businesses play a significant and
growing role in the UK’s thriving small business community.
Now there is more that needs to be done to support them, to
unlock the full potential of home-based businesses for the
economy as a whole.
Mike Cherry is National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
CHAPTER TWO
MAPPING BRITAIN’S HOME BUSINESSES
THE
HOTSPOTS
The UK’s home businesses are not just significant
economic contributors; in their profile and distribution,
they also signify important trends within the
UK economy and labour market.
This second chapter will delve deeper into the landscape
of home business Britain to explore the regional spread,
age profile and sectoral distribution of the nation’s home
business owners, and examine what the nature of the
group might tell us about the present and future
of the economy as a whole.
Taking the business population as a whole, there is a clear
regional disparity in the volume and density of business
ownership, with London, the South East and South West
seeing the highest number of businesses per 10,000 adults,
and the North East, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
the lowest. Based on the 2015 figures, London’s 976,000
companies give it an 18% share of the overall business
population, compared to the North East’s 2.5%.11
In the home business sector, London is no longer the
predominant area; the South East is home to the highest
number of home businesses, with nearly half a million and
24% more than the capital. While the South West, where
one in every nine people in employment is running a home
business, is the area most reliant on the sector.
In the South-West, one in nine people in
employment is running a home business
Moreover, while home businesses make up at least half of the
total business population in every other region, in London
they are only 38% (compared to a national average of 52%).
By contrast, in the area of lowest overall business density,
the North East of England, home businesses make up the
lion’s share of the local business population. An estimated
88,400 operate in the North East, 65% of all businesses. In
Wales, another area with below-average business density,
home businesses also make up over 60% of the total. The
West Midlands, which has England’s second-lowest business
density overall, also sees above-average home business
representation of 55%.
While the trend is not absolute (the South West and the
East of England have above average business density and
home business market share), there is a striking correlation
between areas with high home business density and low
overall growth. The North East and Wales are the only two
areas where home businesses account for over 60% of the
local business population; they are also, judged by regional
economic output, two of the three slowest growing areas in
the UK over the last decade (with GVA growth in that time of
2.3% and 4.1% respectively, compared to 27.5% in London
and 15.8% in the South East).
Home businesses, therefore, may be seen to have an
important part to play in supporting private-sector growth
in areas where the business population underperforms as
a whole. And while the home business community broadly
equates to the UK private sector as a whole, with the four
southernmost regions seeing the highest volume of activity,
these figures suggest that home businesses are fulfilling an
unsung role in parts of the economy where the private sector
is less strong. For instance, in the North East, where the local
proportion of home businesses is highest, the unemployment
rate is also the worst in the UK, at 7.4% compared to the
national average of 4.9%.12 Home businesses are, as such,
helping support employment and underpin growth in regions
that need economic dynamism most.
They are also playing an important role in sectors that are
central to the future growth of the UK economy. Research
conducted for this report shows that there are more home
businesses in the IT & Telecoms sector than any other. With
the UK technology sector growing at an estimated 32%
quicker than the economy as a whole, home businesses are
well represented in one of the most high-potential fields of
the economy as a whole.13
65%
OF ALL BUSIN
THE NORTH EAESSES IN
HOME BUSINE ST ARE
SSES
Gaynor Hebden-Smith, Scottish Sea Glass
MAPPING
HOME BUSINESS
BRITAIN
NO. OF HOME
BUSINESSES
FIGURES ON MAP SHOW
AVERAGE ANNUAL
REVENUE OF A HOME
BUSINESS BY REGION
NORTH EAST
£63,700
NO. OF HOME
BUSINESSES
SCOTLAND
SHARE OF ALL
BUSINESSES
NORTH WEST
YORKSHIRE &
THE HUMBER
£2.4bn
52%
£6.8bn
197,700
£68,800
£9.5bn
EAST MIDLANDS
54%
193,000
264,400
WEST
MIDLANDS
65%
88,400
£6.1bn
50%
GVA*
CONTRIBUTION
GVA*
CONTRIBUTION
54%
184,800
SHARE OF ALL
BUSINESSES
EAST OF ENGLAND
55%
£6.3bn
310,400
59%
£9.4bn
LONDON
369,500
38%
£17.4bn
SOUTH EAST
488,500
56%
£15.7bn
£7.1bn
219,700
63,900
62,500
WALES
47,900
62%
131,000
£3.8bn
88,500
SOUTH WEST
57%
£9.5bn
97,200
303,300
*GVA measures the value of goods and services produced by individual sectors and areas of the economy
Source: Survey of over 500 home businesses, Cebr analysis, 2016
FIGURE 2 – SECTOR DISTRIBUTION OF HOME BUSINESSES
UNDERSTANDING HOME BUSINESS OWNERS
24,757
52,266
57,767
93,528
TRANSPORTATION
& DISTRIBUTION
MEDICAL & HEALTH
SERVICES
REAL ESTATE
LEGAL
99,030
145,794
159,548
165,050
EDUCATION
MANUFACTURING
FINANCIAL SERVICES
ACCOUNTANCY
269,581
283,335
310,844
324,598
As this research shows, there are over 2.75 million people
across the UK running a home business. But who are the
people at the heart of home business Britain? And why
are they choosing to make their livelihood in this way?
The survey on which this research is based looked both
at the demographic profile of home business owners and
the question of whether home business ownership is a
necessity (as some have claimed of the UK’s rising
self-employment) or a choice.
The survey suggested that a majority of home business
owners in the UK (52%) are aged 55 or over, with over three
quarters (79.1%) aged 45 or over. Only 8.3% were found
to be under-35. The apparent prevalence of older home
business owners would fit with the wider trend of over-50s
turning to entrepreneurship and self-employment. The
2014 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found a marked
increase in the entrepreneurial activity of this age group,14
while the Bank of England has suggested that the ageing
workforce was responsible for around half the increase
in self-employment in the UK between 2004 and 2014.15
A report from The Future Laboratory has further suggested
that there will be 2 million ‘boomerpreneurs’ — business
owners over the age of 50 — by 2020.16
CONSTRUCTION
MEDIA, MARKETING,
ADVERTISING,
PR & SALES
35
RETAIL
8.3%
AGED
330,100
35-44
12.6%
434,631
AGED
12%
OF HOME BUSINESSES
ARE IN THE IT &
TELECOMS SECTOR
As well as helping unlock the economic potential of the
UK’s ageing workforce, home businesses are also important
in addressing the gender imbalance that exists within the
business population. House of Commons figures show
that, in 2015, only 20% of SMEs were run by women.17 By
contrast, this survey suggests that a third of home business
owners are women.
FIGURE 3 – AGE DISTRIBUTION OF HOME BUSINESS OWNERS
UNDER
HOSPITALITY
& LEISURE
As the UK workforce ages (the ONS expects a third of
workers to be over 50 by 2020), and the economy risks
losing accumulated skill faster than it can be replaced,
home business could provide an outlet for helping people
stay economically active for longer. Only 30% of over-55s
surveyed for this report said they would otherwise expect
to be in full or part-time work if they were not running
a home business; another 30% thought they would be
running the same business outside the home. Home
business ownership, therefore, seems to be playing an
increasingly important role in supporting the economic
livelihoods of people who are nearing or entering
retirement, in turn helping avoid the loss of highly skilled
and experienced workers to the economy as a whole.
55+
52.4%
IT & TELECOMS
26.7%
OTHER
AGED
45-54
Moreover, it found that women are running a business
from home where most feel they could or would not under
different circumstances. Where 31% of male home business
owners said that they would otherwise be running the
business outside the home, only 15% of female business
owners thought the same. Almost half (49%) of the
women surveyed said they would otherwise expect to be
unemployed or in part-time work, while 58% of men
thought they would be in full-time work or run the
business elsewhere.
Mumpreneurs contribute an estimated
£7bn to the economy
With the widely-acknowledged rise of mumpreneurs,
estimated by one report last year to be contributing over
£7bn to the UK economy, home business ownership is
providing flexibility to, and unlocking potential within,
demographics that might not otherwise seek traditional
employment.18 Research consistently highlights the economic
value that could be unlocked by improving the proportion
of women in employment, with PwC’s Women in Work
index showing that the UK could boost GDP by £170bn
if it increased female employment levels to those seen
in Sweden.19
If home business ownership is helping more people to
find flexible employment, it is also, our survey suggests,
much more of a positive choice than something borne out
of financial necessity. While 24% did say that they would
expect to be unemployed if they did not run their home
business, most thought they would either be in full or parttime employment (39%) or running their business outside
the home (28%). That would suggest that most are actively
choosing to run a business from home, with the flexibility and
familiarity it offers to those looking to launch a second career,
or build a livelihood around family commitments. The next
chapter will explore these motivations in more detail, sharing
insights from home business owners on why they chose to
start up at home, the day-to-day experience of running a
home business, and the opportunities and challenges that
home business ownership presents.
SOUTH-WEST SUCCESS
TOM PUGH JONES, PROGRESS PEOPLE
Felicity Cox has turned her cookware and tableware import
expertise into a budding e-commerce business
Felicity Cox founded e-commerce
German tableware business Calf
House in 2014, but she has been
working at home for over three
decades. “I had worked for around
15 years in an office environment,”
she says. “I left because, when I had
my first son and when I wanted to
re- start my professional life, it made
more sense to do it from home.”
For Felicity, the flexibility of owning
her own home business is one of the
key advantages. “I will usually be sat
at my desk at 9am and take a lunch
break, like most other employees.
But, I can also take time at some
point in the day to do things like play
tennis, and make up for the time by
working a little later into
the evening.”
In 2014, she decided to turn her
importing experience with European
tableware and cookware into her own
business. “I knew the customer base
was out there and the demand was
clear... it wasn’t a leap into
the unknown.”
Yet although Felicity believes that,
“for people of my age, the home
business is a great way to go,” she has
some words of caution for younger
would-be homepreneurs. “I don’t
think young people should jump
straight into a home business. I think
Tom credits the area as “a great place
to live an: active, healthy and with
well-balanced lifestyle. Over the last
decade superfast broadband has
been rolled out across Cornwall and
makes it a great place to be digitally
connected and efficient.”
they should be in an office, learning
how to interact, working with other
people and getting a grounding
there. They can then, at a later date,
transfer those skills to a
home business.”
CASE STUDY
FIGURE 4 – IF I WASN’T RUNNING A HOME BUSINESS, I WOULD BE...
Swapping City for coast unlocked the South West’s
burgeoning tech economy, and the attractions of sand
and sea, for Tom Pugh-Jones and Joylon Ferrier
Co-founders Tom and Joylon first met
when a mutual friend invited them
both for a pint in Cornwall, and soon
after an entrepreneurial venture was
born. “We started as an executive
search company wanting to work
with growing companies in the SouthWest,” remembers Tom. Their client
list now spans fast-growth brands in
the fashion, drinks and tech sectors.
CASE STUDY
THE SECOND CAREER
FELICITY COX, CALF HOUSE
8%
There are, he says, “a growing
number of tech businesses within the
region, and many have been dubbing
Cornwall as “The Silicon Coast”.
A number of our clients are actually
fashion brands that started off as
home businesses and which have
now grown in to multi-million pound
businesses.
29%
7%
FEMALE HOME BUSINESS OWNERS
7%
19%
9%
15%
MALE HOME BUSINESS OWNERS
31%
UNEMPLOYED
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE
“Starting a business at home has
allowed us to create and grow a lean
and profitable business,” Tom says.
“We are now in the position whereby
we can move in to our new office and
take the business to the next level.
PART-TIME EMPLOYEE
27%
21%
8%
RUNNING MY OWN BUSINESS
WITH A NON-HOME
LOCATION AS MY BASE
OTHER
20%
DON’T KNOW
CHAPTER THREE
GETTING STARTED
From lightbulb moments of inspiration, to changing personal
circumstances and long-held individual ambitions, there are
myriad reasons why people choose to start a home business.
Above all, starting out from home allows for a flexible and
affordable approach that reduces the risk inherent in a
new venture.
THE
EXPERIENCE
As the first two chapters have highlighted, more
people than ever are choosing to start and run businesses
from home, embracing both the opportunities and
challenges that self-employment offers.
This final chapter will explore the motivations and
experiences of the people powering the UK’s home
business economy. It is based on interviews with
members of the Home Business 100, a community
of home business owners inspired by Vonage UK.
For Marcus Wilson, Founder of Little Fingers Baby Food,
starting at home was a way of trialling his idea for
organic, self-feeding baby food, without taking on the full
infrastructure costs up-front. “We wanted to get the business
going but not put ourselves under immense pressure, and
the home business route [allowed] us to significantly keep
costs down. My wife works full-time, so childcare would have
been a much bigger issue if I weren’t operating from home,”
he says.
Many who start out from home are looking to minimise costs,
even if they eventually envisage running their company
elsewhere. For Tom Tigwell, founder of premium juice maker
Mission Juice, starting the business from home was a way of
making the most of his small pot of initial funding: “Because
of my low level of investment, I need to save as much money
as possible,” he says, “So, I’ve set up a home office and
although I want to move out eventually, it works for me
right now.”
Family circumstances are often the motivation for new home
business owners. Ali Golds, who runs a business development
consultancy, built her business coaching expertise into a
home business to “give the best home life that I could to my
son. I found it very hard to balance being a single parent and
working: trying to get from work to the child minder, or even
finding a child minder to start with. It’s much easier to plan
your life when you work for yourself.’
For Clara Bentata, Co-founder of online baby boutique
retailer Lucy and Belle, the inspiration was to provide
something missing in the market: “It all started with me
trying to find brands for my children that weren’t widely
available in the UK,” she says. “I started discovering all these
great products from around the world that I knew the UK
market would love. So I decided to stock the brands myself.”
“It’s much easier to plan your life
when you work for yourself.”
Other home business owners are harnessing the skills
they have developed during their career. Film-maker Paul
Wightman gave up his job with a sports production company
to launch Indigo Dingo, a creative agency working with big
and small brands in the sports, entertainment and corporate
sectors. Initially concerned about the lack of interaction
that working from home would mean, he found that vastly
improved connectivity has allowed him to maintain effective
collaborations: “It’s made it easier to make and maintain
close contacts and to collaborate in real-time with remote
colleagues, without having to always be in the same room.
Technology has completely redefined how creative
people interact.”
Above all, it is the flexibility that attracts many who start and
run businesses from home. As Tom Pugh-Jones, Co-founder
of recruitment and relocation service Progress People,
reflects: “You don’t need to be in the City of London, wearing
a suit, getting on the tube every day – you just need a good
phone line and good relationships.”
“TECHNOLOGY HAS
REDEFINED HOW CREATIVE
PEOPLE INTERACT.”
Paul Wightman, Indigo Dingo
TOP TIPS
GETTING GOING
For those who get a home business up and running,
the challenges start coming thick and fast: from finding
customers to delivering on contracts, dealing with admin and
building new and existing relationships.
“It was scary,” recalls Jacqui Burke, Founder of HR and
training consultancy Flourishing People. “Finding the first
client is the biggest fear. It felt like stepping blindfolded off a
cliff into the unknown, and having to believe that there was
something solid on the other side.”
Like many home business owners, Jacqui found herself
quickly having to develop new skills. “I came from a
corporate environment where I had an IT department to
fix a broken laptop and an accounts department to sort
out financial issues. All of a sudden I was doing absolutely
everything myself. I wasn’t a great financier or a great IT
technician, but I’ve had to learn to do those things over the
years.” Jo Hockley, Founder of Toddlebike, similarly reflects
that, “my skill set is amazingly broad now — I am the CEO,
accountant, receptionist and cleaner all rolled into one.”
Others point to the need to bring in the right help and not
try and do everything alone or without the right advice.
“The farther down this road you get, the more you realise the
need for expert advice,” reflects Mission Juice’s Tom Tigwell.
“I wish that I had been a legal expert and supply chain expert
six months ago so that I could protect my idea and get it
bottled faster.”
“The biggest challenge you will have to
overcome is the thought of walking away.”
Jo Hockley, Toddlebike
While home-business owners are perennial multi-taskers,
seemingly managing the work of several people, many
highlighted the limitations of trying to do everything
alone, and the importance of building a strong network.
“Networking is a non-negotiable for any business but even
more so when you run one from home,” says Ali Golds.
“Getting out and about, and meeting other business owners
on a regular basis, not only helps put challenges into
perspective but also offers a heads-up for potential sales,
partnership and collaborative opportunities.
Lucy Woodhouse, half of the team behind frozen yoghurt
maker Claudi & Fin, stresses that home businesses can
benefit from outsourcing work and harnessing the skills of
freelance support. “Do your research and you can tap into a
really talented pool of people. They want to keep their clients
happy so you get a great service from them.”
Many would like better mentoring and support to be
available. “It would have been unbelievably valuable to
me when I was first starting out to have had a mentor, or
someone to help me tap into a community of business
owners,” says Jo Hockley of Toddlebike. “I think we work
well when we work together, and you don’t naturally get that
when you are a home business.”
Working with others, even on an outsourced basis, can help
combat another problem that many home businesses spoke
of: the isolation of working alone. “There is no feedback,
no brainstorming, no socialising with other people,” says
Christina Poelzl-Huemer, of TinaPoelzlDesign.
“Networking is a non-negotiable for any
business but even more so when you run one
from home.”
As well as the ability to juggle multiple priorities, home
business owners identified determination and self-belief as
two key attributes for success. “Parts of the journey will be
unexpected, some challenging and maybe even scary,” says
Lucy Woodhouse. “But if you have that belief then you will
convince others, you will succeed and you will love it.”
Flourishing People’s Jacqui Burke believes that more
investment needs to be made in shared spaces for home
business owners. “The biggest thing we need in my local area
is meeting-places where people who are running home based
businesses can come together and spend time with other
home-based businesses, where we can access particular
services or talk to other home businesses about how to
resolve a problem.”
Likewise, says Kudlip Singh, part of the family team behind
chilli sauce maker Mr Singh’s Sauces, “the biggest challenge
you will have to overcome is the thought of quitting and
walking away. But, if you really believe in your business, then
you will make it work and figure out how to take it from one
to ten.”
“I AM THE CEO,
ACCOUNTANT AND
RECEPTIONIST ALL.”
ROLLED INTO ONE
GETTING SUPPORT
For home business owners, often running everything
themselves, no success comes without commitment and
determination. “Typically I get up at 4am and will work until
6am, when I try to get an hour’s sleep,” says Rupert Connelly
of consultancy marketplace DIALaBRAIN. “I’m then up again
at 7am and won’t finish until 8 or 9pm. When you start your
own business you have to be determined to succeed, but at
the end of the day I’m my own boss and I feel good about
what I’m doing.”
Achieving this may, she believes, require a shift in approach
from local government towards home businesses. “Our local
councils provide quite a lot of business support, but they are
only aware of the businesses paying business rates. So when
they do consultations about what small businesses in our
area need, they fail to talk to home businesses. We’re just not
on their radar: they don’t know how to access us, or even that
we exist.”
The home business sector has grown rapidly in recent years
and the pace shows no sign of slowing. If a supportive
environment can be nurtured, with facilities and advice that
help home business owners to start up and sustain their
enterprises, there is no reason why home businesses cannot
play an ever-growing role in the UK economy of tomorrow.
BE DISCIPLINED:
“It may be that you work better from 6am2pm or you may want to stick to the regular
9am-5pm working hours. Nevertheless, it’s
important you keep to the hours you choose as
it provides consistency for customers, while
allowing you to work when you’re most alert.”
ANNA MORRISH, QUIBBLE CONTENT
MAKE IT PERSONAL:
“If you want your business to have longevity
you have to stay in touch with what motivates
you. It’s not just about getting more clients and
more money, it’s about doing work
that is fulfilling.”
PAUL WIGHTMAN, INDIGO DINGO
PLAN TO SUCCEED:
“Have a sound business plan to keep you on the
straight and narrow so you can tick off points
each day, and that way you don’t get distracted
by the washing up at home”
PIA CATO, VANILLA POD BAKERY
MAKE TIME TO SELL:
“Blocking out a firm couple of hours at least
each day for prospecting, with distractions
stopped at the office door, is crucial. Once
you get into the habit it becomes like second
nature, and the results pile up.”
ALI GOLDS
SHARE YOUR IDEAS:
“By writing regular content you create
something to share on social media – something
to talk about. Rather than sharing content from
other websites, or not sharing anything at all,
you can share your own content, which will
drive visitors to your blog and products.”
ADEEL MOHMOOD, ASPIRE ECIG
EXPERT VIEW
FROM KITCHEN TABLE
TO GLOBAL MARKETS
PAUL LINDLEY
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, ELLA’S KITCHEN
Today Ella’s Kitchen, the organic baby food business I founded a decade
ago, is the UK market leader, retails in over 40 countries and sees annual
revenues of over $100m.
Yet go back those ten years, and it was a very different story.
I vividly remember being round my kitchen table with a focus
group of three year-olds, mixing and tasting the first test
products: fruit smoothies that would become our best-seller.
Next year, we expect to sell the billionth portion of Ella’s
Kitchen food, yet back then the entire business fitted neatly
around our kitchen table.
I ran the business from my home for the first three years,
branching out from the kitchen to the kids’ playroom as
our numbers grew. It was in that formative period as a
home business that the culture that defined Ella’s Kitchen
through its rapid growth was created and moulded. If you
are building a team in a home business environment, then
you end up working closely literally and figuratively; the
working environment is never perfect but you make do and
mend. There’s never quite enough space or equipment to
go around, but you manage and it can bring a team closer
together, working without the corporate comforts many may
be used to.
The early years in the makeshift office have become part of
the company legend; the weekly meetings in the ball pit,
waiting your turn to use our one phone line, the uneven floor
that meant everyone’s office chairs used to slide inexorably
back towards the middle of the room. We were dealing with
the everyday ups and downs of a young business — the
tough negotiations, the tight deadlines and the stressful
moments — surrounded by children’s toys and clutter: a
sometimes surreal experience (especially for those visiting
for meetings) but also one that was true to our culture as a
childlike business that tried to put itself in the tiny shoes of
its consumers.
Building the early-stage Ella’s Kitchen from home also meant
making that team an extension to my family; we would eat
together at lunchtimes around my kitchen table, and my kids
made individual drawings for the first twenty or so staff to
help welcome them to the team.
It was in our formative years as a home business
that the culture that defines Ella’s Kitchen was
created and moulded
All of which is not to pretend that it isn’t hard work running
a business and growing a team from your home. You need
to work hard at the collective culture and ethic, to make
sure that working cheek by jowl doesn’t end up with people
stepping on each other’s toes. And if your plan is to grow,
there will come a time when you need to find a new home,
one big enough for your team and your ambitions.
Yet leaving the home environment behind doesn’t have
to mean you leave behind everything that is good about
running a company from home. We have worked hard over
the years to make sure our new offices, converted barns on a
nearby farm, have the same warmth and sense of community
with a workforce approaching 100 as we did as a team of ten
working out of my kids’ playroom. Indeed, the mission and
culture of the business, while it has scaled over time, is still
fundamentally the same as in those early days. Which goes
to show, an idea and a business which starts small in
the comfort of your own home, can indeed go out to take
on the world.
WHAT NEXT?
GET STARTED
GET INSPIRED
If you’re thinking about starting a home business, check
out the Government’s ‘Home Business Guide’ online, or
download the ‘Start Right Guide’ published by Vonage, with
tips and advice on starting and running a home business:
https://www.vonage.co.uk/starting-guide/
Visit the Home Business 100 website
(www.homebusiness100.co.uk) and the
Vonage blog (https://www.vonage.co.uk/blog)
to find more home business stories, tips and advice
GET INVOLVED
GET CONNECTED
Find out more about the Home Business 100
and register your interest in joining at
www.homebusiness100.co.uk/sign-up
Visit www.vonage.co.uk to see how our
cloud communications solutions are
supporting home businesses
ABOUT
Vonage (NYSE: VG) is a leading provider of
cloud communications services for businesses.
Vonage transforms the way people work and businesses
operate through a portfolio of communications solutions that
enable internal collaboration among employees, while also
keeping companies closely connected with their customers,
across any mode of communication, on any device. In 2015
and 2016, the Company was named a Visionary in the Gartner
Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as-a-Service,
Worldwide and also earned the Frost & Sullivan Growth
Excellence Leadership Award for Hosted IP and Unified
Communications and Collaboration (UCC) Services.
www.vonage.co.uk
Home Business 100 is a community inspired
by Vonage, to celebrate and spotlight the UK
home business community.
It has brought together people from across the UK, running
businesses from home in a wide range of sectors, from food
and drink to financial services, business services to creative
industries and manufacturing to hospitality.
Home Business 100 is telling the stories, highlighting the
success and sharing the experience of the people making the
UK’s home business economy tick.
www.homebusiness100.co.uk
@HomeBiz100 facebook.com/homebiz100
MEET THE
HOME BUSINESS 100
ACCREDITED
MARKETING
LTD
ABACUS
FOUNDER: SEBASTIAN VAN MOOK
BASED:
WEST MIDLANDS
WWW.ABACUSFINANCIALADVISERS.CO.UK
FOUNDER: CHARLOTTE GREENMAN
BASED:
WEST MIDLANDS
WWW.ACCREDITEDMARKETING.COM
ALI MILLER
LONDON
FOUNDER: ANNA SCOTHERN
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
WWW.ALIMILLER.CO.UK
WWW.ANNASCOTHERN.COM
FOUNDER: CHRIS WARD
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.AWARDHEALTHANDSAFETY.CO.UK
BETTY’S BIRDS
FOUNDER: BETH NICHOLAS
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
WWW.BETTYSBIRDS.COM
FOUNDER: ALEXA TEWKESBURY
BASED:
EAST MIDLANDS
FOUNDER: ADEEL MOHMOOD
BASED:
BASED:WALES
WWW.BAABAADESIGN.CO.UK
EAST OF ENGLAND
FOUNDER: FELICITY COX
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
WWW.CALFHOUSE.CO.UK
THE CHOCOLATE
CELLAR
WWW.CHERRYTREECOUNTRYCLOTHING.COM
WWW.THECHOCOLATECELLAR.CO.UK
COLOUR
THEIR DAY
CLAUDI & FIN
WWW.CLAUDIANDFIN.CO.UK
CAKES
WITH FACES
WWW.CAKESWITHFACES.CO.UK
CHERRY TREE
COUNTRY
CLOTHING
BASED:
WWW.BERRYANDRUSSELL.COM
WWW.BIGCHEESEMAKINGKIT.COM
WWW.CELEBRATIONBALLOONS.BIZ
BASED:WALES
BASED:LONDON
WEST MIDLANDS
NORTHERN IRELAND
BASED:LONDON
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
WWW.CATENA-NETWORK.CO.UK
BASED:
FOUNDER: BALA CROMAN
FOUNDERS: LUCY WOODHOUSE
AND MERIEL KEHOE
BASED:SCOTLAND
EAST MIDLANDS
FOUNDERS: JIM & JANET CAMPBELL
FOUNDER: BETHAN BITHELL
FOUNDER: LUCY BERRY
& EMILY RUSSELL
FOUNDER: AMY CRABTREE
BASED:
CELEBRATION
BALLOONS
FOUNDER: MARIE ANTHONISZ
BERRY &
RUSSELL
FOUNDER: AILSA PROVERBS
FOUNDER: CLAIRE BICKNELL
THE CEYLON
PLANTERS
WWW.ASPIREECIGUK.CO.UK
THE BIG
CHEESE MAKING
KIT
CATENA
NETWORK
CALF HOUSE
ASPIRE
ECIG UK
BAA BAA
DESIGN
LIMITED
FOUNDER: CRAIG LEWIS
SOUTH WEST
WWW.ALEXATEWKESBURY.COM
ANNA
SCOTHERN
FOUNDER: ALI MILLER
AWARD
HEALTH AND
SAFETY LTD
ALEXA
TEWKESBURY
CREATIVE
BIZDEV
FOUNDER: ALI GOLDS
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.CREATIVEBIZDEV.CO.UK
FOUNDER: ANDREA MARTIN
BASED:
NORTH WEST
NORTH WEST
CORNERSTONE
BRANDS LTD
FOUNDER: OLIVER BRIDGE
BASED:LONDON
SECTOR:RETAIL
WWW.COLOURTHEIRDAY.COM
WWW.CORNERSTONE.CO.UK
DIALABRAIN
LIMITED
DARIMEDIA
FOUNDER: YEMI DARAMOLA
FOUNDER: RUPERT CONNELLY
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
WWW.DARIMEDIAS.COM
WWW.DIALABRAIN.COM
SOUTH WEST
MEET THE
HOME BUSINESS 100
DOLLY DIMPLES
REBORN
NURSERY
DISCOVRR
FOUNDER: HANS ABANIFI
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.DISCOVRR.CO.UK
FOUNDER: CAROLE ANNE HARVEY
BASED:
NORTH WEST
WWW.DOLLYDIMPLESREBORNNURSERY.COM
FOUNDER: ED HOLLANDS
BASED:
FOUNDER: JAMES ROBBINS
FOUNDER: ZAHEER ANWARI
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.THEDYNAMICTRADER.COM
FOUNDER: JUSTINE FONTAN
& LAURENE FONTAN
FOUNDERS: TOM HARDY
& CHRIS SMITH
BASED:
BASED:
WWW.FLOURISHINGPEOPLE.CO.UK
FOUNDER: PHILLIP COX
BASED:SCOTLAND
BASED:
WWW.EMBROIDEREDORIGINALS.CO.UK
WWW.ENGINEERINGWITHWATER.CO.UK
NORTH WEST
FOUNDER: GUY HEARN
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.GUYHEARN.COM
HENRY’S
AVALANCHE
TALK
FOUNDERS: DAVID & TRACY
HUNWICK
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
WWW.HENRYSAVALANCHETALK.COM
WWW.HOLIDAYCOTTAGESANDVILLAS.COM
IDENTITY
PAPERS
FOUNDER: LINDA HASKING
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
HARBOROUGHBLINDS
FOUNDER: PAUL MOTTLEY
BASED:
HYDRO
HOT TUBS
FOUNDER: SIMON MORRIS
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
SOUTH EAST
INDIGO DINGO
FOUNDER: PAUL WIGHTMAN
BASED:
EAST MIDLANDS
WWW.HARBOROUGHBLINDS.COM
HOLIDAY
COTTAGES
AND VILLAS
FOUNDERS: HENRY SCHNIEWIND
& CHRIS RADFORD
ENGINEERING
WITH WATER
FOUNDER: MARION MITCHELL
EAST OF ENGLAND
GUY HEARN
PHOTOGRAPHY
SOUTH EAST
WWW.HYDROHOTTUBS.COM
ISABEL & INK
FOUNDER: ISABEL BIRRELL
BASED:LONDON
EAST OF ENGLAND
WWW.ELSIEROAD.CO.UK
THE FAMILY
GRAPEVINE
ETERNAL IRIS
FOUNDERS: BEN CHAPMAN
& MICHAEL BEECH
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.ECODREAMS.CO.UK
EMBROIDERED
ORIGINALS
ELSIE ROAD
FOUNDER: JACQUI BURKE
ECO DREAMS
BASED:
WWW.DRYSURE.CO.UK
EAST MIDLANDS
WWW.DRIVENMEDIA.CO.UK
THE DYNAMIC
TRADER
DRYSURE
FLOURISHING
PEOPLE
DRIVENMEDIA
WEST MIDLANDS
WWW.ETERNALIRIS.COM
FOUNDERS: NIKKI VINE,
GENEVIEVE ARLIDGE
& KATHERINE DANIEL
BASED:
WWW.IDENTITYPAPERS.COM
FETCH
THE DRINKS
FOUNDER: SEAN MCFETRICH
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
WWW.INDIGODINGO.COM
JEN SMITH
SOCIAL MEDIA
FOUNDER: JEN SMITH
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
JK FINE
CHOCOLATES
FOUNDER: JAMIE KEMP
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
WWW.ISABELANDINK.COM
LAUREN
CATRIS DESIGN
FOUNDER: LAUREN CATRIS
BASED:WALES
SOUTH EAST
WWW.THEFAMILYGRAPEVINE.CO.UK
WWW.FETCHTHEDRINKS.COM
WWW.JENSMITHSOCIALMEDIA.CO.UK
WWW.JKFINECHOCOLATES.CO.UK
WWW.LAURENCATRIS.COM
MEET THE
HOME BUSINESS 100
LITTLE FINGERS
BABY FOOD
L’ETALE
FOUNDERS: JEMIMA BOOST
& EDOUARD BOOST
FOUNDER:MARCUS WILSON
BASED:
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
BASED:LONDON
WWW.LETALE.CO.UK
LOSE IT AND
LOVE IT
LITTLE
LIGHTBULB
FOUNDERS: RYAN VAUGHAN
& JON RAMSBOTTOM
BASED:
WWW.LITTLEFINGERSBABYFOOD.CO.UK
NISHA HAQ
PHOTOGRAPHY
FOUNDER: MARTIN DEVAUGHAN
FOUNDER: NISHA HAQ
BASED:WALES
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
SOUTH WEST
WWW.LITTLELIGHTBULB.CO.UK
LOVE FROM
DAISY
THE NET
PRINT SHOP
OFFICE PANTRY
FOUNDERS: GILES MITCHELL
& CHARLES ARNOLD
BASED:
WWW.THENETPRINTSHOP.CO.UK
WWW.NISHAHAQPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
ONTRACK
ADVICE
LUCY AND BELLE
FOUNDER: CHRISTY HYSLOP
FOUNDER: ALI HEARN
FOUNDER: CLARA BENTATA
FOUNDER: TOM KLIMES
BASED:SCOTLAND
BASED:LONDON
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
WWW.OFFICEPANTRY.CO.UK
PERFECT
VILLAS 4 U
OSCAR & OWL
FOUNDERS: PHILIPPA MAIN
& ALEX DRANSFIELD
SOUTH WEST
FOUNDER: WENDY IRVING
BASED:
WEST MIDLANDS
BASED:LONDON
WWW.LOSEITANDLOVEIT.CO.UK
MISSION JUICE
FOUNDER: TOM TIGWELL
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
WWW.LOVEFROMDAISY.CO.UK
WWW.LUCYANDBELLE.COM
WWW. ONTRACKADVICE.COM
MOVEMENT
FOR MODERN
LIFE
MORGAN’S DOG
BOUTIQUE
FOUNDERS: RHYS & SIAN MORGAN
FOUNDER: KAT FARRANTS
BASED:WALES
BASED:LONDON
PET&R LLP
FOUNDERS: PETER & LYNNE
HAMMOND
BASED:
WWW.MISSIONJUICE.CO.UK
MR BOOKS
FOUNDER: MISHA ROSENTHALL
BASED:
EAST OF ENGLAND
WWW.MORGANSDOGBOUTIQUE.COM
WWW. MOVEMENTFORMODERNLIFE.COM
FOUNDERS: KULDIP SINGH SAHOTA
BASED:LONDON
FOUNDERS: NICKY CHISHOLM
& SARA GUIEL
BASED:
WWW.MRBOOKSESSEX.CO.UK
WWW.MRSINGHSSAUCE.CO.UK
FOUNDER: ALISON RACKLEY
BASED:WALES
BASED:
NORTH WEST
PROGRESSWEST
FOUNDERS: TOM PUGH-JONES
& JOLYON FERRIER
BASED:
WWW.PINKCORSAGE.CO.UK
FOUNDER: ANNA MORRISH
BASED:
EAST MIDLANDS
SOUTH WEST
WWW.PROGRESSWEST.CO.UK
QUIBBLE
CONTENT
PLYT
FOUNDERS: LISA & IAN MCCARTNEY
WWW.PERFECTVILLAS4U.COM
PINK CORSAGE
NORTH EAST
WWW.PETANDR.CO.UK
MUMPRENEURS
NETWORKING
CLUB
MR SINGH’S
SAUCES
WWW.OSCARANDOWL.COM
REDNINE
FOUNDER: ROBIN WORRALL
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
SOUTH EAST
WWW.MUMPRENEURSNETWORKINGCLUB.CO.UK
WWW.PLYT.CO.UK
WWW.QUIBBLECONTENT.CO.UK
WWW.REDNINE.CO.UK
MEET THE
HOME BUSINESS 100
ROBIN
ECKARDT:
SALES MASTERY
MAGAZINE
CONTEMPORARY ARTIST
FOUNDER: ROBIN ECKARDT
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
FOUNDER: COLETTE MACHADO
BASED:LONDON
SCOTTISH
SEA GLASS
FOUNDER:GAYNOR
HEBDEN-SMITH
FOUNDER: JO HOCKLEY
BASED:
SOUTH EAST
TUFFSCREEN
SCREEN
PROTECTION LTD
TRAINING
UNLIMITED
TODDLEBIKE
FOUNDER: JAN FELTON
BASED:
NORTH WEST
FOUNDER: TRISTAN FOWLER
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
BASED:SCOTLAND
WWW.ROBIN-ECKARDT.CO.UK
WWW.SALESMASTERYMAG.COM
SERVICES FOR
STUDENTS
LONDON LTD
WWW.SCOTTISHSEAGLASS.CO.UK
SIGMATEN
ACCOUNTING
SERVICES LTD
SILVER MOOR
BUSINESS
CONSULTING LLP
FOUNDER: FABIO ROMERO
FOUNDER: MUHAMMAD NADEEM
FOUNDER: JOHN BAKER
BASED:LONDON
BASED:SCOTLAND
BASED:
WWW.SERVICESFORSTUDENTS.CO.UK
WWW.SIGMATEN.CO.UK
WWW.SILVERMOORCONSULTING.CO.UK
SOUTH WEST
STERLING
BUSINESS
COACHING
THE SPOTTED
ZEBRA COMPANY
SPICE POTS
WWW.TODDLEBIKE.CO.UK
FOUNDER: MELANIE AULD
FOUNDER: JENNIFER LEASK
FOUNDER: SIMON MEADOWS
BASED:SCOTLAND
BASED:WALES
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
WWW.TRAININGUNLIMITED.CO.UK
USHIWEAR
FOUNDER: NEIL AND JILLY KAPUSI
BASED:
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
WWW.USHIWEAR.CO.UK
THE VANILLA
POD BAKERY
USPAAH
FOUNDER: IGLIKA GHOUSE
FOUNDER: PIA CATO
BASED:LONDON
BASED:
WWW.USPAAH.COM
WWW.VANILLAPODBAKERY.COM
WIGHTPRINT
PUBLISHING
VINTERIOR
FOUNDER:SANDRINE
ZHANG FERRON
WWW.TUFFSCREEN.COM
FOUNDER: IAN MATTHEWS
BASED:
EAST OF ENGLAND
SOUTH WEST
WORK FROM
HOME WISDOM
FOUNDER: JUDY HEMINSLEY
BASED:
SOUTH WEST
BASED:LONDON
WWW.SPICEPOTS.COM
WWW.THESPOTTEDZEBRACOMPANY.CO.UK
TAXFREEGAINS.
CO.UK
STIFFIES
FOUNDERS: JAMES RITCHIE
& NICK SYDNEY-SMITH
FOUNDER: CHRIS MILLER
BASED:
YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
BASED:LONDON
WWW.STIFFIES.CO.UK
WWW.STERLING-COACHING.COM
TINAPOELZLDESIGN
FOUNDER:CHRISTINA
POELZL-HUEMER
BASED:
WWW.TAXFREEGAINS.CO.UK
WEST MIDLANDS
WWW.TINAPOELZLDESIGN.COM
WWW.VINTERIOR.CO
YOUR BUSINESS
COMMUNITY LTD
FOUNDERS: PAUL KELLY
& TED WIGZELL
WWW.WIGHTPRINT.COM
WWW.WORKFROMHOMEWISDOM.COM
YOUR PA
TODAY
1712DESIGN
FOUNDER: HELEN GREEN
FOUNDER: MARK COLEMAN
BASED:SCOTLAND
BASED:
WWW.YOURPATODAY.COM
WWW. 1712DESIGN.CO.UK
NORTH EAST
BASED:LONDON
WWW.YOURBUSINESSCOMMUNITY.CO.UK
FOOTNOTES
1.
Department for Business, “Business Population Estimates for
the UK and Regions 2015” (October 2015), p.1
11. “Business Population Estimates for the UK and
Regions 2015,” p.8
2.
12. Office for National Statistics, “Regional Labour Market
Statistics in the UK” (17th August 2016)
3.
4.
Ofcom, “Cost and value of communications services in the UK”
(January 2014), p.5
13. Tech City UK, “Tech Nation 2016 reveals that digital industries
in the UK are growing 32% faster than the rest of the economy”
(11 February 2016)
5.
Aston University, “UK SMEs finally recovering from recession”
(18 June 2015)
6.
Department for Culture, Media & Sport, “Creative Industries
worth almost £10 million an hour to the economy”
(26 January 2016)
7.
House of Commons Library, “Financial Services: contribution
to UK economy” (26 February 2015), p.3
8.
House of Commons Library, “Manufacturing: statistics
and policy” (9 August 2015), p.3
9.
House of Commons Library, “Construction Industry:
statistics and policy” (6 October 2015), p.5
10. UKTI, “UK leads the way for Financial Technology (fintech)
services says new research” (6 August 2014)
14. University of Strathclyde, “Over 50s emerge as entrepreneurs:
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor UK Report 2013”
(2 July 2014)
15. Bank of England, “Self employment: what can we learn
from recent developments?” (2015), p.56
16. Telegraph.co.uk, “Entrepreneurial spirit thriving among
baby boomers,” (4th August 2014)
17. House of Commons Library, “Business Statistics
(7th December 2015), p.3
18. Telegraph.co.uk, “Mumpreneurs generate £7bn
for UK economy,” (5th August 2015)
19. PwC, “Women in Work Index 2016”
METHODOLOGY
The report has been based on analysis by Centre for
Economic and Business Research (Cebr), incorporating
primary research by YouGov with UK home business
owners and interviews with Home Business 100 members.
The Home Business Research compiled by Cebr relies on a
number of sources to illustrate the role home businesses play
in the UK economy. Specifically, it uses information from the
Office for National Statistics’ (ONS’) Characteristics of Home
Workers publication to estimate the current and historic
number of home businesses.
As it accounts for all individuals working from home,
including people that are employed by a company based
elsewhere but operate from their house, this has been
narrowed down further by considering only self-employed
home workers. In order to examine the home businesses’
employment share, it relies on the same ONS dataset and
uses the number of all employed who reported home
working status as the base. This figure is very close to, but
slightly below, the total employment figure. When comparing
the regional distribution of home businesses with that of
the private sector business population it relies on the home
business data from the ONS dataset as well as the Business
Population Estimates for the spread of all businesses.
The sectoral analysis of home businesses is done based on
data from a YouGov survey that was commissioned for the
purposes of this report. The survey was conducted online
between August 1st– 9th, 2016.
The total sample size was 532 home business owners.
The same survey was used to analyse the average number
of employees in a home business and the relationship these
employees have with the owner. The survey also provided
the share of home business owners that believe they would
be unemployed in the absence of their home business. This
share was applied to the total number of home business
owners to estimate what the unemployment level increase
would be in the absence of home businesses.
The average home business revenue figure is obtained
from the YouGov survey and is multiplied by the number of
businesses to estimate total annual revenue received by all
home businesses. This figure is converted into a gross value
added (GVA) estimate based on industry-specific revenue/
GVA relationships estimates from the Annual Business
Survey. Other illustrative statistics regarding the home
business population e.g. age distribution of owners and
level of education obtained, are also obtained from the
YouGov survey.
The research was supported by insight gathering through
interviews with Home Business 100 members, to explore the
motivations and experiences of home business owners, and
the main challenges they face.
INSPIRED BY
www.homebusiness100.co.uk
facebook.com/homebiz100
@HomeBiz100

the heart of home business britain

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