Starting a business in the UK now costs as little as £250

Are you put off from starting a business because you think it will cost too much and you don’t have the money? New research from Yell Business should encourage you to think again and pursue your dream of going it alone.

According to the survey of 1,500 UK small businesses, of which 93% reported profitability in the last year and reported being either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ successful, 40% were founded with £500 or less.

A further 32% of these small businesses were founded with set-up costs of £250 or less – highlighting that cost shouldn’t be a barrier for budding entrepreneurs.

Low start-up costs and high levels of success and profit were found to be in contrast to the perceived barriers from Britons who have considered starting a business. In a separate survey of 1,500 UK consumers, the main risks of starting up were considered to be a lack of money (40%), risk of failure (25%), and not knowing where to start (23%).

Despite this consumer survey result, a whopping 51% of those survey said they had thought about setting up a business; largely because they were unhappy in their current employment.

Yell Business, Mark Clisby, commented:

“As our research found, the current catalysts for taking the leap and starting a business include inheriting funds (24%) and being made redundant (15%).

“However, hopefully, the positive revelations around low start-up cost and high success, will give the inspiration needed to budding entrepreneurs, so that they don’t wait for scenarios like this to happen to them.

“For anyone in the process of starting up, my advice would be to thoroughly research your market before making the leap – and to prioritise digital. From a website, social media to reviews, this is essential for any business in 2017.”

Ready to take the leap and start a business? View our ultimate guides to over 70 of the best business ideas and get started today.