smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Young people are being discouraged from starting their own businesses and becoming franchisees by a wall of jargon and a lack of contemporary role models, according to a survey by franchisor Domino’s Pizza and the Make Your Mark campaign.

The research shows two-thirds of 18-30-year-olds believe the benefits of setting up in business is ‘buried behind jargon that didn't bring opportunities to life for them’. Positive phrases include 'being my own boss', 'using my ideas' and 'making money for me'.

Language was also found to cause of a lack of understanding of franchising. Respondents suggested replacing terms like 'franchisee' and 'franchising' with 'business owner' or the charming 'business with stabilisers'.

Furthermore, 85 per cent of them want to see more news of young Brits as inspirational examples, claiming existing entrepreneurs should share their knowledge and experience to encourage others.

‘Assumptions and misunderstandings clearly restrict the potential of many thousands of young people who want to put their enterprise into action,’ believes Chris Moore, chief operating officer of Domino's. ‘In turn, business appears to be denying itself access to a huge pool of potential talent by not removing some simple barriers.

‘Of course, many people successfully access the inspiration and information they need to start a new business, through franchising or by going it alone, but our issue today is how to open up opportunities for an even greater number of people by making the world of enterprise a more accessible place.’

‘Demystifying different business models by simplifying language, or by bringing them to life though promotion of role models, is an important way in which businesses can help to fuel an enterprise culture amongst young people in the UK,’ concludes Raj Patel, director of policy for the Make Your Mark campaign.

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