I Enjoy Being My Own Boss!
Direct Line for Business (DL4B) have revealed that there are currently 2.5 million home business owners now operating across the UK, representing 52% of the total number of UK small businesses and 8% of the UK’s total workforce.
The 'Real Business' report titled 'The UK's top 25 businesses run from home,' found that home businesses operate across a wide range of sectors that include e-commerce, travel, marketing, recruitment and legal. Direct Line have seen an increase in home businesses which focus around other key trades such as catering, photography, hairdressing and arts & crafts.
Despite the challenging and uncertain economic environment causing concern, millions of people are choosing to take control of their future, achieving a better work-life balance and turning a potential hobby into a career by using an increasingly digital, mobile and flexible business landscape.
DL4B’s analysis showed that the South East and South West had the highest concentration of home business owners, both representing a tenth of total workforce in both regions. London’s home business owner community accounts for 9% of the total four million strong workforce, with more than 356,000 across the city.
27% of Herefordshire’s 92,000 total workforce is a home business owner- the largest concentration across the whole of the UK. Pembrokeshire was second with 23%, or over 10,000 people, and Eastbourne was third with 20%, or 8,074.
Men are more than twice as likely as women to run their own business from home, with 1.7 million male home business owners across the country, compared to around 818,000 female home business owners.
Jazz Gakhal, Head of Direct Line for Business commented: “Self-employment has been on the rise for several years and our research now shows that a great number of these people work for themselves from home."
He added: "Once an individual has taken the decision to set up a home business, it is crucial that he/she fully appreciates their responsibilities as a business owner and ensures that adequate protection is in place should anything happen to threaten what he / she has worked so hard to achieve.”
Gakhal emphasises how important insurance is when starting up a new business: “organise home business insurance from the start. The potential emotional and financial loss from an accident or theft could be devastating. Specialist Home Business Insurers such as DL4B can also offer options such as legal expenses or cover for business equipment away from home, lending crucial peace of mind to these brave individuals.”
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