The UK’s creative sector is suffering from an identity crisis, defined by freelance professionals, start-ups and their aspiring peers resisting the label ‘entrepreneur’ and even ‘small business.’
Fresh research confirms anecdotal evidence obtained by Freelance UK that despite brimming with money-making ideas, some self-employed Brits fail to see themselves as ‘small business’ owners or ‘entrepreneurs.’
The worrying trend indicates that government dialogue to promote greater self-employment, often referring to ‘the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,’ is going unheard by independent creative professionals and their budding peers.
The new study, commissioned by @UKPLC, found that almost one in five Brits would not identify themselves as an ‘entrepreneur’ although they did admit to being full of business ideas.
Reflecting on the results, Lyn Duncan, managing director, said: “Nearly one in five of us would not apply the term ‘entrepreneur’ to ourselves, and yet we seem to be full of ideas.
“It’s time that we shed our image of the entrepreneur as a character from a reality TV show and moved them into the real world with the rest of us.”
Jonathan Kestenbaum, chief executive of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), says the government should create a single policy for all creative enterprises, from the freelance to the serial entrepreneur.
He told Freelance UK:” The rules that apply to ‘small businesses’ also apply to freelance and contractor communities. We would encourage a policy framework that creates a climate for all creative businesses, regardless of size, to operate effectively within.”
Carole Vincer is a freelance professional with over 20 years experience providing natural history, equestrian and architectural illustrations.
Responding to whether the government is doing enough to promote the benefits of entrepreneurship, she mused, “Entrepreneurship? I’m not really sure I’m classed as one of those.
“Freelance workers are not regarded as a small business so we miss out on certain government benefits,” she added.
“As a freelance illustrator no government help was provided [during start-up], had I started a ‘company’ that would have been a different matter.”
Similarly, a freelance running a UK copywriting service, who depends on attracting new clients for profitability, declined to comment on ‘entrepreneurship’ as, “I really don’t see myself as a company.”
Some clarification comes from the Collins English Dictionary (2005), which defines ‘entrepreneur’ as “the owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits.”
Separately, the research from @UKPLC went onto show the under-30s have the most ambition in business, yet almost 40 per cent won’t act on their innovation for fear of not possessing enough business acumen.
The fear of the unknown, compounded by worries about earning enough money, means just one in ten people actually take their idea forward, to turn it into a commercial reality.
Yorkshire and the South West emerged as the most ‘entrepreneurial’ regions, where 17 per cent of the study’s respondents had set up their own business.
May 11, 2006
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