The Prime Minister’s (pictured) enterprise advisor Lord Young claims that small businesses are entering a ‘golden age’.
In a report published today, Lord Young looked at how business has changed over the past five years.
The report says the internet has brought down barriers that might previously have stopped a good idea from being turned into a viable business. It said that the government’s drive to roll out super-fast broadband around the country, and the increasing use of tablets and smartphones providing on-the-go internet access, have made it easier for those working for themselves to reach customers and make sales.
The report also charts a change in culture, with growing numbers of people choosing to be their own boss not simply out of commercial necessity, but because of conviction in their own ideas.
Lord Young said: “In the last five years I have met countless numbers of inspiring entrepreneurs and small firms – from all ages and backgrounds and all reporting that starting a business is the most exciting and challenging thing they have ever done.
“My report reflects on the key developments that government and its partners have supported to raise ambition about enterprise and enable entrepreneurs to build successful businesses.
“Put these together and you can see the transformative effect on enterprise opportunities in the UK today. This is the golden age for small firms – there has never been a better time to start and grow a business.”
The report outlines how government policies providing more support for small firms and new enterprises have helped transform the business landscape over the past five years.
As part of the government’s long term plan to back business, create jobs and build a more resilient economy, Lord Young was appointed as the Prime Minister’s enterprise advisor in October 2011 and asked to review support for small businesses and look at how new and developing businesses can grow.
