Route to awakening 'business graveyards'
A north/south divide continues to plague UK-based entrepreneurs, with those based up north more likely to go bust than their southern rivals.
Link: Special report: Accountants turned online entrepreneurs
‘Business graveyards’ – towns hit with high company failure rates – were more likely to be in the Midlands and the north, according to a study by the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. The worst-hit town was Peterborough, where businesses were five times more likely to go under than anywhere else in the UK.
Former accountant turned entrepreneur, Keith Milsom, who runs the successful web business Anything Left-Handed, said a financial or accounting background was the best launch pad for a career in business.
‘Marketing and strategic planning are key and CIMA was a good qualification in that respect,’ he said.
To help combat the worrying trend of business failures, the government has launched ‘Make your Mark’, a new scheme for young entrepreneurs seeking to turn ideas into reality.
Speaking at the launch, George Cox, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: ‘Young people are hungry to make their mark in the world through their own creativity and ideas – and too often in Britain they are given insufficient encouragement. For Britain in a global economy this is about our future survival.’