smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

A new survey indicates that a large number of would-be entrepreneurs are influenced by reality TV shows such as Dragon's Den.

The NatWest study showed that one in five (19 per cent) young people aged between 18 and 34 who had set up a company in the last five years had been inspired by reality TV.

However, respondents to the survey also noted that these shows tended to glamorise running a business. In fact, almost half (45 per cent) said that this was the case, with 32 per cent saying such programmes showed it to be easy.

NatWest business banking chief executive Steve Pateman warns against budding entrepreneurs being complacent.

'Whilst it's encouraging that TV programmes can inspire an army of armchair entrepreneurs into action, they only really scratch the surface of what it takes to run a successful business,' he says.

NatWest also found that motivations for establishing businesses include the ability to work flexibly, feeling independent, and being free of their current boss.

As well as this, life-changing moments such as redundancy and illness were found to prompt many people to go it alone.

Meanwhile, business start-up show Tycoon starring Peter Jones of Dragons' Den was reallocated to a later spot this month following poor ratings.

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