Armchair entrepreneurs encouraged by TV
- Published: 12/07/2007
An 'army' of budding entrepreneurs are being encouraged to start up their own firms by programmes such as the Dragon's Den, new research reveals.
A survey from NatWest shows that close to 20 per cent of all young entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 34) who set up a company in the last five years were inspired by reality TV - although they do warn that such programmes make setting up a business look glamorous (45 per cent) and easy (32 per cent).
Around 77 per cent of those surveyed said that their motivation for starting up their own business was a desire to work more flexibly and to gain feelings of freedom and independence.
Steve Pateman, chief executive of Business Banking at NatWest, hinted that any budding Donald Trumps should make sure they are insured before they start their new business.
"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 commented.
A survey from NatWest shows that close to 20 per cent of all young entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 34) who set up a company in the last five years were inspired by reality TV - although they do warn that such programmes make setting up a business look glamorous (45 per cent) and easy (32 per cent).
Around 77 per cent of those surveyed said that their motivation for starting up their own business was a desire to work more flexibly and to gain feelings of freedom and independence.
Steve Pateman, chief executive of Business Banking at NatWest, hinted that any budding Donald Trumps should make sure they are insured before they start their new business.
"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 commented.