The Importance of Micro Enterprise Owners to UK Biz

There are 4.5 million private enterprises in the UK of which 99.9% are SMEs (Small or Medium Enterprises). There are only just under 6000 companies that are not SMEs, that is they are ‘Large’ companies.

We use the terms micro enterprise and micro business to describe the majority of businesses in the UK. These terms cover all enterprises started and run by the owner that have less than ten employees. A business with no employees at all is still a micro enterprise and the success of a business should not be measured in terms of employees.

This micro size of business includes all the self employed, sole traders, freelancers, partnerships, home businesses, limited companies and social enterprises. Most of us micro enterprise owners refer to ourselves as small business owners (because we haven’t read the EU definitions for micro, small, medium and large businesses).

We believe the term ‘SME’ used by Government, BigCos and Academics is patronising, meaningless and deceitful. It is used as a catch all synonymous with the word ’small business’. It is not. They imply through the term SME that they are supporting or training or lending or helping small businesses whereas at least 95% of their support goes to less than 5% of SMEs – the larger small and medium enterprises. Medium Enterprises (50-250 employees) and many small businesses with 10 or more employees have little in common with micro enterprises.

Micro Enterprises have been started by and continue to be run by their owner – the entrepreneur – who has risked their own money and time to start, survive and thrive in their own enterprise. Micro Enterprises usually do not have career and functional managers employed in the businesss.

97% of all private enterprises are micro enterprises (0-9 employees)

About three quarters of all enterprises in the UK have no employees at all.

About one in seven of the adult workforce are running their own micro enterprises. This is why self employability and start up skills & know how are as important as employability and sector specific skills and know how.

Up to half a million people start their own micro enterprises each year and the UK stock of micro enterprises is increasing year on year – there were about another 50,000 last year.

Most of the innovation and new jobs in any region comes from these new micro enterprises.

As many people start a micro enterprise because it is their best or only means of earning a living as they do because they want to exploit an opportunity to earn lots of money. Indeed, the main reason in the uK that people start their own micro enterprises is because they want to control their own destiny.

About two thirds of people running micro enterprises have no prior business or management experience. The skills and know how you need to start and run a business are not the same as business studies or management training. they are a specific skill and knowledge set and these are described for the UK, through research by an organisation called SFEDI (http://www.sfedi.co.uk).

Almost all micro enterprise owners say they develop their running their own biz abilities by learning from experience and about half learn from other enterprise owners. Enterprise learning and support must be experiential, active and integrated into the actual biz.

The right learning and support for start ups with help for test trading can make a massive difference to survival rates – certainly, over 20% difference. For example 80% can survive over 3 years with the right support at start up and 1 in 6 of these (we don’t know which will be the 1 in 6 – it’s impossible to pick winners but government programmes try!) will go on to be substantial employing businesses.

Practical hand holding test trading from the enterprise coach, adviser, mentor appears to make the biggest difference to survival and growth. This why the Enterprise Rockers believe all start ups should have access to a coach, adviser, mentor to help with test trading and to help not only at start up but for 12 months.

Press Release on ‘Stripping for Freedom by Tony Robinson OBE:

A Satirical look at Enterprise in the UK

Exposing the lot!

This is the whackiest self help guide to working for yourself that you’ll read this century. Combining practical tips, humorous insights along with a large helping of political satire you’ll enjoy the adventure even if you don’t want to escape from your corporate cubicle.

Leonora Soculitherz, the now reclusive Canadian celebrity author and fashionista, returns to the UK to conduct a double investigation. Firstly, she reveals the bare essentials you’ll need in order to succeed in starting and running your own enterprise. Secondly, she lifts the lid on why leading public servants and fat cats continue to wallow in riches and power when all they touch turns to dust.

It took five years to persuade Ms Soculitherz to work once more on a book with her hapless UK agent, Tony Robinson OBE. Then, however, it took only 40 roller coaster days from arriving in sunny Scarborough to leaving foggy London to complete her mission. Contained within this provocative exposé you’ll discover the know-how of ‘what it takes to go it alone’; ‘the dark secret of the Civil Service club’; and ‘the shadowy global network behind the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries and conspiracies’.

Amazingly, the first edition of ‘Stripping for Freedom’ has received more critical acclaim (see Amazon UK for more reviews) than both of Ms Soculitherz’s previous self fulfilment blockbusters, ‘Buzzing with the Entrepreneurs’ (also with Tony Robinson OBE) and ‘Bong in the Orange Grove’. This must be down to her penetrative interviews with entrepreneurs and leaders of whom no-one has ever heard, which reveal more than anyone wished. So, the cult of Soculitherz grows, as ever more readers strip for freedom, take control of their own destiny and go it alone.

‘Fasten your seat belt for an epic journey of discovery with revelations and laughter along the way. Put yourself in Leonora’s hands and you’ll experience an uncommon freedom’. (Tony Robinson OBE, Official UK Agent to Ms Soculitherz).