A perfect time for start-ups
Apr 08 2009
Redundancies could mean a new start
Nearly half of UK professionals say they would use redundancy pay-offs to go it alone, according to a poll.
In a survey of 487 UK professionals by networking site LinkedIn, 45 per cent said that starting up would be their next step.
Louisa Croft worked as administrator for a manufacturing company and was made redundant in January. She used her pay-off to work full-time on her web content business, Write Fresh.
She says: ‘The idea was always there, but I just needed a push. After being made redundant I realised this was what I really wanted to do. It's actually been a positive thing for me – the business is going well and I now have a lot more flexibility.’
Peter Cochrane, angel investor and former chief technologist at BT, says: ‘One of the best pieces of advice I can give to new start-ups is not to underestimate the importance of their network. They will need every ounce of help and have to call in every favour possible from contacts, friends and family to make a new business a success.’
Of the 3,000 professionals asked globally, 49 per cent said they would go it alone, with 17 per cent saying they’d use the redundancy money to take an extended holiday and a fifth saying they would live off the pay-out until finding their next permanent job.
Research from Barclays showed that there was a one per cent rise in the number of new businesses being started, to 436,000 from the previous year.
There are currently no comments on this article
Comments