Home Business

Report
Compiled by

Enterprise
Nation
 Home Business Report
October 2007
Enterprise
Nation
Introduction from Emma Jones
The home has now become the UK’s most popular start-up location.
More than 60% of businesses are started from home and over 1,400 new
home businesses are launched each week.
Starting and growing a business from
home brings its benefits: the 60 second
commute, increased productivity, reduced
overheads, time left over for family and
friends and being a part of the local
community.
Having the upside of these benefits
does not in any way lead to a balancing
downside of ambition.
Ambitious business owners are making
the most of outsourcing, sub-contracting
and technology to increase their turnover,
whilst keeping the business at home.
People no longer have to make the choice
of a successful business or a happy home
life. Home business owners are having it
all!
Enterprise Nation is the UK’s fastest
growing website for people starting and
growing a business from home and we
are the leading advocates and champions
of home business. We believe that there
are challenges that, if met head on,
would propel the growth of this sector
yet further. In this report we set out a 10
point action plan for Government and
Enterprise Agencies in England, Scotland,
Wales, and Northern Ireland. A plan
that would see greater recognition – and
support – afforded to a dynamic business
community that is not only contributing to
the economy but to the environment and
society too.
We also provide clear evidence that those
regions supporting dedicated home
business projects are growing their home
business base at the fastest rate.
The North West and West Midlands are
the only two regions to be supporting
significant home business projects and,
according to Labour Force Survey and
Enterprise Nation data, these are the two
regions showing the most rapid growth
in the number of self-employed working
from home. They are catching up with the
South East and London who take the top
slots in the first year of this report.
This all shows that regional support
can make a positive difference and that
the regions and nations grasping the
opportunity to communicate with, and
assist home businesses, are the areas that
are truly prospering.
I’d like to suggest that, if the observations
and recommendations in this report are
fully considered and acted upon, the UK’s
home business sector, and our economy
and society, will truly benefit.
Emma Jones
Founder, Enterprise Nation
Home Business Report
October 2007

Introduction from Philip Young

In BT Regions, we work closely with government, regional development
and enterprise agencies and other business organisations from the
private, public and voluntary sectors, in order to foster economic
enterprise and regeneration across the UK regions and nations. Through
this work we are well aware that the nature of regional enterprise is
changing.

This report highlights how home-based
businesses are fast becoming a key part of
the UK’s economic future, both nationally
and regionally. It’s clear that they have
become a significant and growing part of
the small business sector.
We also see a bigger picture. We
live in an era of climate change and
transport congestion, with a challenging
environment for agriculture and rural
industry and a need for regeneration
in many UK regions. And we see
demographic trends that will not only
require more people to work but also for
longer. The encouragement of home-based
businesses - and ‘smarter working’ more
generally - could make significant positive
impacts on many of these things.
Our interest in home-based businesses
is obvious. They survive and thrive on
communications technology. Indeed I
would argue that it is unlikely we’d have
seen the growth we have if we had not
had broadband Britain. Such businesses
rely on online promotion and selling
on the web, gaining advantage over
larger companies through the speed
and flexibility of email communication
and other online media, and can work
as virtual organisations of affiliated
individuals. These same tools allow these
businesses to look like larger ones, work
flexibly from different locations and on
the move, and collaborate as if they are a
single unit.
As keen champions of small business BT
is pleased to sponsor Enterprise Nation
in the production of this report. We
believe that there is more that can be
done to encourage and support home-
based businesses and we welcome the
opportunity to partner with other regional
organisations to find ways to promote and
foster this important part of our enterprise
economy.
Philip Young
Director, BT Regions
Home Business Report
October 2007

Contents
Setting the scene
Report findings 6
The home business landscape 8

The home business‘ten point action plan’ 11

Regional reviews
West Midlands 14
East Midlands 15
North East 16
North West 17
South West 18
South East 19
East of England 20
Yorkshire and The Humber 21
Wales 22
London 23
Scotland 24

Appendices
Appendix I: Data sources 26
Appendix II: About the author 27
6 Home Business Report
October 2007

Setting the scene

Report findings
• There are more than 2.1 million home based businesses in the UK. This is out of
a total of 4.5 million small and medium sized enterprises at the start of 2006, an
increase of 2.9% on the start of 2005.1

• Home based businesses account for around 28% of employment (almost a third
of the total workforce) and they have a combined turnover of in excess of £364
billion. 1

• Over 60% of new businesses are now started from home. This is equal to more
than 1,400 new home businesses each week, more than any other type of
business. 1

• The highest growth in home business is coming from mums, young people and the
over 50s. Home business is a route to bring people into employment who might
not otherwise have contributed to the economy. 2

• The fastest growing sectors for home businesses are in the business and
professional services sector (such as accountants and website developers), online
trading (such as eBay-ers), personal services (such as home interior designers,
hairdressers, party planners), food (products and caterers), and domestic energy
(including people selling excess DIY ‘green’ power back into the national grid). 3

• Having started up, home business owners are ambitious for growth. In a poll
taken on Enterprise Nation, our home business website, 100% of respondents
confirmed their plans to increase turnover in the next 12 months, 86% of
respondents claimed they could achieve their growth targets by running the
business from home and 63% confirmed that they would rather outsource
projects and new work rather than employ full time personnel. 4

• Home business owners are IT savvy and making full use of the internet and
software applications to manage their business and their life. In entries to the
Enterprise Nation Home Business Award, 98% of entrants had a business website
and 64% were utilising e-commerce platforms. In further research carried out for
BT, 42% of home business owners confirmed they go online for business advice
and 86% agreed that technology is more important to them as a home based
business than in an office environment. 5,6

• As well as contributing to the economy, home business owners are friends of the
environment. An increase in homeworking contributes to a reduction in Co2
emissions and could cut peak traffic by up to 10% within 5 years. 7

• Home business owners are contributing to society too, by being on hand for
family and friends and spending time and money in the local area that is bringing
daytime neighbourhoods to life. In a ‘work/life blur’ poll taken on the Enterprise
Nation site, 87% of homeworking parents felt that their being at home was good
for the children who are being trained as next generation entrepreneurs. 8

• Yet despite the positive contribution made by home business owners, to the
economy, environment and society, there are only a few tailored business support
programmes for this audience and there is a gap when it comes to availability of
data to measure the size and impact of the home business community.
7 Home Business Report
October 2007

• In this report we call for more research to be carried out at a national, regional
and local level to secure a true picture of home business in the UK.

• This need for research has also been recognised by the Department for Business,
Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (DBERR), commenting on the release of SME
statistics for 2006 that

“there is no single source of estimates of the number of businesses in

the UK. The main source for this publication is the Inter-Departmental
Business Register, administered by the Office for National Statistics, which
is used to provide the number of registered businesses in the UK. This
publication includes estimates of very small businesses that do not appear
on the IDBR. These are estimated by DBERR from the ONS Labour Force
Survey and HM Revenue & Customs Survey of Personal Incomes. Since the
estimates use survey data, the reliability of the SME statistics is lower for
the smallest size class.”

• The same information gap exists at a regional level and only one of the twelve
Regional Development Agencies make reference to supporting home business in
their Regional Economic Strategy. We therefore call upon enterprise agencies in
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to refer in key policy documents
to their encouragement and support for home business.

• According to data sources used for this report, the South East and London are the
top performers when it comes to the number of resident home businesses.

• Yet these regions are being challenged by the North West and West Midlands who
are showing the fastest growth in home based self-employment. These are the
only two regions to be currently supporting dedicated home business projects,
suggesting that regional intervention and support can make a difference.

• At a local level, there are pockets of support activity: the Microbiz Fair held for
home businesses in Horsham, a new project to be launched in the Peak District to
offer call handling and support for home businesses and a programme in Croydon
to encourage people to turn a hobby into a business, from a home base. Profiles of
home business activity in each of the regions are noted in the following pages.

The team behind this annual report will continue to track activity across the English
regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and follow the outcomes from these
dedicated projects and also identify new home business programmes.
8 Home Business Report
October 2007

The home business landscape

The number of people starting and growing their business from home is
on the increase. In fact, the home is now the UK’s most popular start-up
location with more than 60% of business owners deciding to work and
live under one roof.

We look at who is starting home businesses, the factors influencing the growth of this
modern way of working and what more can be done to encourage it yet further.

Who?
People of all ages, genders and social standing are turning their homes into a place of
business, in every region of the UK. Particular growth is coming from:

• The under 25s - who and are turning their vocational skills, combined with IT
knowledge, into a way to earn a living. 9

• Mums – who are looking for a route to earn an income whilst being on hand for
the family. 10

• The over 50s – who are leaving the ‘corporate world’ for the freedom of self-
employed portfolio working, based at home. 11

Why?
There are three key reasons why people are choosing to start and grow their business
from home:

• Savings - starting out at home saves money in avoiding the cost of an extra office.
It also saves time. A new business owner can gain up to 20 extra days per year
through giving up the daily commute. Days that can be spent on growing the
business, rather than sitting in traffic jams.

• Technology – advances in technology mean that almost any trade can now be
carried out at home. Business owners are developing their websites as a virtual
window to the world and utilising software to manage projects, work with
partners and develop new business.

• The work/life blend – people are heading home to be close to family and friends.
Starting and growing a business from home is enabling thousands of families
to be together, work together and share the financial rewards. Research for BT
shows that ‘Flexibility/working the hours I choose’ and ‘Better work/life balance’
were the two most popular factors when business owners chose to start from
home, coming in at a higher ranking than ‘lower overhead costs.’ 6

What?
According to Enterprise Nation polls and intelligence, these are the five sectors showing
the greatest growth in home based business:

• With more and more accountants, lawyers, graphic designers, website developers,
marketing professionals and journalists leaving corporate employment to be their
own boss at home, professional service businesses are on the increase.
9 Home Business Report
October 2007

• With an impressive 58% growth in the number of mobile hairdressers operating

in 2006, home based, personal service companies, such as complementary
therapists, party planners and home improvement providers are growing fast. 10

• As consumer demand for local and organic food produce continues to outstrip
supply, we are seeing a greater number of home businesses producing food
products from home. Research from The Soil Association confirmed that
organic food and drink sales in the UK nudged the £2 billion mark for the first
time in 2006 and continues to grow at record rates.

• More than 70,000 people in the UK are now making a full time living from eBay
and thousands more are generating a level of income from trading online. 12

• Domestic energy is showing strong signs of growth and opportunities are

emerging to start businesses at home that tap into people’s growing awareness of
the environment, including generating power to sell back to the national grid.

Many of these businesses may start as part time 5-9 ventures (that’s 5.00pm in the
afternoon to 9.00am the next day) but there is no denying that home business owners
are ambitious for their business, regardless of the stage it’s at.

In Enterprise Nation polls, we asked our readers about their businesses and ambitions:
The results were clear.

• 100% of community members confirmed they plan to increase turnover in the

next 12 months.
• 86% believe they can achieve their growth targets by running the business from
home.
• 63% confirmed that they would rather outsource projects/new work rather than
employ full time personnel.

And the challenges they face are mainly communication based – wanting clarity
on business rates and planning permission as well as some clear business support,
networks and incentives that have been tailored for home based businesses and
provided at all levels, from central government, development and enterprise agencies
and local authorities.

Why does this matter?

An increase in the number of people starting and growing a business from home has a
positive impact on the economy, the environment and society.

To the Economy, it delivers:

• Increasing numbers of business start-ups
• Improved levels of productivity
• Job creation in knowledge-intensive & professional services
• Economic activity from previously under-represented groups (particularly mums/
housewives and people with disabilities)
• Strengthened local economies as money is retained in the area
10 Home Business Report
October 2007

To the Environment, it delivers:

• Reduced traffic congestion: according to the RAC Foundation, homeworking
could potentially cut peak traffic by up to 10% within 5 years. This would save
14.5 billion miles a year, equal to 17 million cars not taking a trip from Land’s End
to John O’Groats.
• Improved efficiency use of buildings

To Society, it delivers:
• Enlivened daytime neighbourhoods
• Securing the next generation of entrepreneurs as children become involved in a
home-based business
• Better childcare at home with parents being around and not ‘at the office’.

What more can be done?

It is for these reasons that home enterprise should be further encouraged. We have
come up with a ten point action plan to be considered at a national, regional and local
level.

Footnotes:

1
National home business statistics are sourced from Department for Business, Enterprise &
Regulatory Reform, SME statistics, August 2007
2
Enterprise Nation demographic research, Jan 2006 – Jan 2007
3
Enterprise Nation sector research and predictions, January 2007
4
Enterprise Nation website user poll, April 2007, of 1,612 respondents
5
Enterprise Nation Home Business Award entries, July to October 2007
6
The State of the Small Business Nation 2007, commissioned by BT
7
RAC Foundation, Motors to Modems Report, May 2000
8
Enterprise Nation website user poll, August 2007, of 1,007 respondents
9
Enterprise Insight research, YouGov research for EO London, May 2007, and City & Guilds
‘Generation Enterprise’ April 2005
10
Yellow Pages and London School of Economics, Kitchen Table Tycoons, September 2006
11
PRIME and ‘The New Old’ by Demos, September 2003
12
eBay trading figures, 2007
11 Home Business Report
October 2007

The home business

‘ten point action plan’
This report shows that more could – and should – be done to help home
business. So Enterprise Nation is proposing ten specific things that we
believe government and agencies could do, to better support and foster
home based businesses.
Introduce statistics and indicators to help understand the home business
environment:

1) Introduce a range of indicators at national, regional and local levels to measure

the number and impact of home businesses. To make this happen, financial
incentives might be offered to encourage home business owners to come forward
and be counted (see below).

2) Create a cross-departmental government group dedicated to monitoring changes

in the above indicators and influencing policy towards home based business.

Design new governmental policies and programmes to help and support

home based businesses:

3) Re-consider the criteria by which businesses are categorised and offered business
expansion grants. Home business owners are ambitious for their business to
grow but would rather sub-contract work, rather than hire new employees (on
which basis grants currently tend to be available). Sub-contracting is still creating
‘wealth’ and should be recognised as such.

4) Enterprise agencies (such as Regional Development Agencies and equivalent)

should explicitly refer to home based business in their Regional Economic
Strategies (RESs) and similar plans, as well as developing programmes to actively
support them. During the compiling of this report, we found reference to home
business in only one such document (the RES for South East England).

Consider financial incentives to encourage home based business:

5) Home businesses place fewer demands on transport infrastructures (reducing

commuting, for instance) and can diminish the cost of some public services (such
as road building, and even possibly crime prevention). They are intrinsically
environmentally-friendly, and also assist the regeneration of rural communities.
These positive contributions could be reflected in offering a basic tax relief for
home business owners.

6) The tax implications of working from home should be made clearer and more
explicit. This should include greater clarity on issues such as capital gains tax
(CGT) liability on the part of the house being used for a business purpose,
business rates versus council tax and what allowable home business expenses
are available for home businesses. For example, we welcome and support the
call made by the Conservative Party in their ‘Blueprint for a Green Economy’
published in September 2007 for a review of CGT levied on the part of the house
used for business purposes.

7) Local government could also clarify the position of the council tax and planning
issues relating to home business on their council websites and in printed
publications.
12 Home Business Report
October 2007

Develop more local physical infrastructure to support home businesses:

8) Local authorities should produce planning policies that recognise live/work

schemes and take a more positive, encouraging attitude towards planning
applications for such schemes. More information on this topic is available at
liveworknet.com

9) Local authorities should consider investment funding in dedicated live/work

developments or ‘hub’ facilities for homeworkers, where hot-desking, temporary
workspaces and meeting facilities are provided, especially in places with actual or
potential high concentrations of home based businesses.

Promote and champion home based business:

10) Government and enterprise agencies should get actively involved with
promotion and marketing campaigns for home based business, following the
example of the ‘Homeworking in England’s Northwest’ project in the North West
and the ‘Enterprise HQ’ project in Shropshire.
13 Home Business Report
October 2007

Notes

1. Each profile contains a table of facts and figures, a

regional round-up of home business activity, a home
business case study and relevant links.

2. The figure provided on the number of home based

self-employed is sourced from the Labour Force
Survey, Homeworking Regional Analysis, 2006.

3. Figures on:

• Importance of technology to home business

• Biggest hurdles
• Reasons for starting at home

are sourced from ‘The State of the Small Business

Nation 2007 Report’ commissioned by BT in
October 2007.*

4. References to the percentage of visitors to the

Enterprise Nation website are sourced from a
demographic analysis of site visitors, January to
October 2007.

* The geographical breakdown within the State of the Small

Business Nation report shows figures for the West Midlands,
East Midlands and East of England as one geography combined.

The geographical breakdown within the State of the Small

Business Nation report shows figures for the North East and
Yorkshire and The Humber as one geography combined.
14 Home Business Report
October 2007

Regional reviews
Home Business in the West Midlands
We see great potential for home businesses continuing to prosper in
the West Midlands, mainly on account of the enthusiasm being shown
by Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands (AWM),
towards this modern way of working.

Number of home based self-employed, 181235 The number of Case study

2006 self-employed Heather Gorringe,
people working Wiggly Wigglers
Importance of technology to home 90% from home has
business increased by Heather Gorringe
Biggest hurdles over 12,000 runs Wiggly
Financial stability 52% between 2005 Wigglers from
and 2006 (to her home farm
Finding customers 23%
181,235 in 2006.) in Herefordshire.
Reasons for starting at home The percentage The company
Better work life balance 55% of home based provides worms
self-employed and other supplies to keen gardeners and
Lower overheads 50%
has increased by is generating an annual turnover in excess
2.3%, placing the of £2.5 million.
West Midlands as the region showing the
second fastest rate of growth in percentage Heather is a best case example of how
change. * home businesses are making full use of
the web to promote and sell supplies.
AWM is funding a project that has seen The Wigglers website not only carries
the UK’s first dedicated unit for home an e-shopping facility but also Heather’s
business owners being established in blog and a fortnightly podcast that ranks
Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The ‘Enterprise alongside Chris Evans and the BBC
HQ’ project has attracted hundreds of Breakfast Takeaway on the iTunes listing.
home business owners since it opened its
doors in April 2007. Quite an achievement for a home based
business selling worms!
There is potential for this project to be
expanded into neighbouring counties that Links
would complement a potential live/work Wiggly Wigglers
scheme being considered in the market www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
town of Ross-on-Wye.

Credit should go to AWM for the

commitment it is showing to home
Links enterprise. This focus is clearly paying off.
Advantage West Midlands
www.advantagewm.co.uk

Home HQ
homehq-shropshire.co.uk

*Labour Force Survey,

Regional analysis:
percentage of self-employed
people usually working from
home 2005/2006
15 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in the East Midlands

There are projects underway in the East Midlands connected to
homeworking but with more of a focus on home based employees, as
opposed to home based start-ups.

Number of home based self-employed, 134306 In its application Case study

2006 to the national
Digital Challenge,
Importance of technology to home 90% Nottingham’s bid
business was based on
Biggest hurdles ‘homeshoring’,
Financial stability 52% an exercise in
recruiting call
Finding customers 23%
centre agents to
Reasons for starting at home work from their
Better work life balance 55% home. Nottingham
was not successful
Lower overheads 50%
in winning the
Digital Challenge
(it was one of the 10 finalists) but the
homeshoring project is underway with
funding support from the East Midlands
Development Agency (EMDA).
EMDA has also commissioned research
to look at ‘atypical’ working practices,
covering home working, remote working
and flexible working. This will include
analysis of the contribution made by
‘atypical working’ to the Gross Value
Added (GVA) in the region.
A more ‘home business’ related project
is a plan in the Peak District to offer
services to home business owners such as
call-answering, businesses addresses and
meeting space. Lincolnshire Enterprise is
also showing interest in promoting itself
as a hub for home businesses.
We expect that once EMDA have some
positive results from these projects,
we will see more of an emphasis on
encouraging home business start-ups
across the region.
Links
East Midlands Development Agency
www.emda.org.uk
Connected Nottingham bid
www.connectednottingham.org.uk
Jobsworth Cards
Having started a
comedy writing
club in his local
village, Marc
Holland joined
Peter Hartley and
Ivan Gaskell in
writing humorous
lines for cards related to the business
world.
Friends and family liked these cards so
much that the trio decided to produce a
range, appoint an agent and see how they
would sell. The response was positive and
Jobsworthcards.co.uk was born, selling
out its first range to more than 100 shops.
This was remarkable as not one of the
three founders had any experience of the
greeting card industry. The founders have
had to become experts in outsourcing,
from design and printing to fulfillment
and selling via agents. The company
continues to grow by distribution to more
outlets and introducing new industries
and professions featured on the cards.
But none of the founding three are ready
to move out of their home offices in and
around Leicester. Marc says: “Working
from home suits us perfectly. We each
know our role in the company so we get
our work done, without having to be away
from the family, and we meet every week
to keep in touch. Jobsworth Cards was
started from a 3 home base and we hope it
will stay there!”
Links
Jobsworth Cards
www.jobsworthcards.co.uk
16 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in the North East

The North East may have a smaller base of home based self-employed
compared to other regions (57,911) but this number is increasing at a
strong rate.

Number of home based self-employed, 57911 Between 2005 and Case study
2006 2006, the North Mercury Marketing
East saw an increase
Importance of technology to home 87% of more than 9,000 Geoff Ramm
business people who were runs a successful
Biggest hurdles operating as their marketing business
Financial stability 55% own boss from from a home in
home.* We believe Tyne & Wear
Finding customers 28%
this figure could that he shares
Reasons for starting at home be even higher if with his wife and
Better work life balance 64% dedicated home 13 month old
business projects daughter, Grace. Having started the
Lower overheads 51%
were introduced. business at the age of 27, Geoff has built
the company over the past five years so
We have come across a couple of that it offers one-to-one consultancy
initiatives focused on home enterprise. advice to clients in the north of England
Rural Enterprise Action in Hexham will and national seminars made available on
host workshops for people starting and Geoff’s personally branded site at www.
growing a business from home in early geofframm.com
2008 and Women into the Network,
a membership organisation run from Two years ago Geoff considered relocating
Durham Business School, hosted ‘The to serviced office accommodation but
Working Mum – how to nurture your decided against the move after consulting
business and your family’ in February with clients who wanted Geoff to travel
2007. to them. He saw no reason to take on
the extra overhead and has grown the
The region is also keen for its employers business from home ever since. Geoff’s
to adopt flexible working practices, as business prowess has been recognised
seen by the North East signing up to in his own region as he has won a South
Work Wise UK, the national movement Tyneside Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Links to promote smarter working and research Award. He is certainly one to watch.
One North East was commissioned in 2006 to look at the
www.onenortheast.co.uk potential for call centres to employ home Links
based agents. Mercury Marketing
Rural Enterprise Action www.mercurymarketing.co.uk
www.reaction-online.org The North East does a great job
of focusing on its next generation
Women into the Network entrepreneurs, encouraging enterprise in
womenintothenetwork. its schools, colleges and universities and
co.uk we think there is a significant opportunity
for the region to promote the concept of
* Labour Force Survey, starting and growing a business at home
Regional analysis: number to its young and student population.
of self employed people
usually working from home
2005/2006
17
Number of home based self-employed,
2006
Importance of technology to home
business
Biggest hurdles
Financial stability
Finding customers
Reasons for starting at home
Better work life balance
Lower overheads
to support a dedicated home business
project.
Links
Northwest Development
Agency
www.nwda.co.uk
Homeworking in
England’s Northwest
www.homeworkingnw.
co.uk
* Enterprise Nation site
demographics, January to
October 2007
** Labour Force Survey,
percentage of self-employed
people usually working from
home 2005/06
Home Business Report
October 2007
Home Business in the North West
The Northwest is showing the highest percentage increase out of all
regions, in the number of self-employed people working from home.
It is also the region with the third highest percentage of visitors to the
Enterprise Nation website.*
189948 The percentage Case study
increase in the Travel Counsellors
number of self-
89% employed usually This business is
working from home not really one
between 2005 and home based
58% 2006 was 4.9% with business: it’s more
Merseyside being a like 800 home
29%
particular hotspot based businesses.
for growth.** This Headquartered
47% growth has spurred in Bolton, Travel
on the Northwest Counsellors is just one of the many
43%
Development companies that offer people who want to
Agency (NWDA) operate from home, an idea, a franchise
and a central support network.
Founded by chairman David Speakman
In August 2006, the NWDA commissioned in 1994, the Queen’s Award winning
‘Homeworking in England’s Northwest’; company is now the largest home
an 18 month project to increase the based travel company in the world with
number of businesses started from home agents operating across seven countries.
and employees working from home. It operates a model that sees travel
The project has delivered strong results, consultants set up as self-employed
including the formation of the ‘North franchisees, working from their homes, yet
West Flexible Working Group’ that seeks they tap into the central resource of IT and
to encourage employers to adopt flexible marketing/business development support
working practices. that is provided by a staff of 170 at Travel
Counsellors HQ.
We now look forward to seeing the NWDA
support the infrastructure requirements Travel Counsellors are provided with
of home business owners by investing in ongoing training and IT applications and
homeworking hub facilities. support. Weekly broadcasts of the Travel
Counsellors Television (TCTV) webcast
The NWDA appears committed to home keep the network of travel advisers up to
business and we expect the dedicated date with the latest company news and
homeworking project to continue to an annual programme of live conferences
influence home based start-up figures. keeps morale high and helps ensure that
the company’s retention rate is among one
of the highest in the UK travel industry.
Links
Travel Counsellors
www.travelcounsellors.com
18 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in the South West

Enterprise Agencies across the Southwest are working to make the most
of the natural asset at their disposal, offering city-leavers a high quality
location in which to relocate, live and work. This appears to be paying off.

Number of home based self-employed, 207121 According to Case study

2006 inward investment Mole End Ltd
agency, Cornwall
Importance of technology to home 81% Pure Business, Mole End Ltd is,
business of the 210,000 without a doubt,
Biggest hurdles SMEs registered a family business.
Financial stability 45% locally, two-thirds The company
have been started is run by Jan
Finding customers 28%
by entrepreneurs Strassen and her
Reasons for starting at home moving from urban husband and their
Better work life balance 57% areas and each two children lend a
start-up has been helping hand at weekends too. Based close
Lower overheads 47%
responsible for to Exeter, the business is made up of three
creating on average internet shops selling a range of items
1.7 jobs. The agency is highly effective in from software to jewellery and customised
promoting quality of life benefits of the printing labels.
area for those who can relocate and bring
their business with them. Technology is key to enabling the business
to function and to allowing Jan and her
There is certainly suitable accommodation husband to take some time out of the
on offer which is to be expected as business. Jan says: “When we are out,
Penzance is home to Tim Dwelly and his our call answering service can take orders
Live Work Network that promotes live/ and emails details to us. We use an online
work accommodation across the UK. support system to manage our software
Tim was also instrumental in starting the support, skype to communicate with
Digital Peninsular Network that provides partners and online banking to maximise
virtual services and meeting space to efficiency. If the computers stopped
hundreds of home based businesses. working, we would be completely lost!”

The South West Regional Development This business looks set to continue riding
Agency is also supporting the ‘flex’ the technology wave whilst enjoying life
project that is introducing flexible and in the beautiful surrounds of South West
homeworking in 50 small and medium England.
sized businesses.
Links
We expect the South West to maintain Mole End Ltd
Links its position in the top quartile of regions www.mole-end.biz
South West Regional in terms of the number of home-based
Development Agency self-employed in view of its attractive
www.southwestrda.co.uk offer to existing and potential home
business owners and the way this is so
Cornwall Pure Business effectively marketed in regional promotion
cornwallpurebusinessco.uk campaigns.
Live Work Network
www.liveworknet.com
19 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in the South East

It came as little surprise that the South East took the number one
position in terms of the number of home based self-employed. The region
has a higher start-up rate compared with other UK regions, the highest
percentage of visitors to the Enterprise Nation website and is the only
region to refer to home business in its Regional Economic Strategy.

Number of home based self-employed, 363258 Yet there is only one Case study
2006 example we can find The Fudge Kitchen
of a dedicated home
Importance of technology to home 87% business project in Sian Holt started
business the South East. her business from
Biggest hurdles her spare room in
Financial stability 43% The Horsham Kent 10 years ago.
Microbiz Fair It has since grown
Finding customers 21%
has been running out of the spare
Reasons for starting at home since 2003 and the room, into a specially converted barn
Better work life balance 55% events have gained and into a multi-million pound turnover
in popularity. This operation with 8 shops and employing
Lower overheads 48%
year, visitors were more than 50 people. It’s a far cry from
asked for their views the early days when Sian’s hall was filled
on workspace to influence the Council’s with boxes of walnuts and raisins.
building plans. Interestingly, the results
showed that: Sophisticated technology allows Sian
and her team to keep in touch with the
• 24% of those surveyed are looking branches across the UK. The company is
for accommodation now or within also an early adopter when it comes to
a year e-commerce, selling fudge from its online
• 60% of those surveyed were looking shop.
for accommodation with easy in/out
terms, rather than being committed In the beginning, Sian chose home due to
to a long lease the reduced costs, saying “So many small
businesses front-load their start up costs
Confirming that home based businesses with expensive offices when they should
are not averse to moving out of the home, be thinking that a desk in a rent free spare
if and when the time comes to take the room allows for scarce initial funds to
step. be spent on business generation and not
overheads.” But she continues to remain
With an increase of 2.1% in the percentage at home on account of the flexibility it
of self-employed people working from offers, commenting “once the business
Links home between 2005 and 2006*, the South reached the stage that it could afford a
South East England East looks set to continue being a hotspot separate office, I converted an outbuilding
Development Agency for home businesses. We look forward to because, as a mother, it gave me total
www.seeda.co.uk seeing more events like the Microbiz Fair flexibility and allowed me to both keep
to encourage and support this sector. control of my business and stay in touch
Horsham, Microbiz Fair with the day to day progress of 2 young
www.horsham.gov.uk children (with a little help!).”

* Labour Force Survey, Links

percentage of self-employed
The Fudge Kitchen fudgekitchen.co.uk
people usually working from
home 2005/06
20 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in the East of England

The East of England, with its large rural economy and major commuter
towns and cities, has significant potential for home businesses. And the
number of them is on the increase.

Number of home based self-employed, 238334 The number of Case study

2006 home-based self- Outsec
employed increased
Importance of technology to home 90% by over 14,000 Norfolk-based
business between 2005 and OutSec spotted a
Biggest hurdles 2006.* The region gap in the market
Financial stability 52% promotes itself as as the availability
“the ideas region” of broadband
Finding customers 23%
with Enterprise grew. The
Reasons for starting at home Hubs, funded by company provides
Better work life balance 55% the East of England outsourced
Development secretarial services to a wide range of
Lower overheads 50%
Agency (EEDA), companies across the UK through a team
driving “innovation of 85 home based secretaries and a pool of
in science, technology and research.” We 250 specialists who access their work over
can now see that a number of these ideas the internet. The company has created
are emanating from spare rooms, garages a bespoke software solution that allows
and attics across the region. clients to upload large voice files directly
to the site.
There is one project closely linked to home
enterprise. The ‘Enterprising Women’ The company was founded by Richard
project has a goal to “increase the number and Vanessa Phillips in 1999. With more
of successful women in business in the than 180 customers and 800 individual
East of England.” The project profiles role users across the country, the company
model home business owners and holds is growing by around 5% each month.
events that show how to pursue a business Richard says, “Broadband has been at
dream at home. the heart of our success. Without it, our
growth would have been a lot slower,
At the inaugural conference in June 2007, because teleworking would have been
the keynote speaker was Julie Bishop, a less cost effective and we couldn’t have
single mother from Norwich who started provided the levels of service that keep our
out with a mop and bucket and now clients happy and win us new business.”
Links employs over 20 staff at Living Clean, the
East of England environmentally friendly and home based Links
Development Agency cleaning company. Outsec
www.eeda.org.uk www.outsec.co.uk
There are huge possibilities for the East
Enterprising Women of England and we hope that more can
project be done to support and nurture resident
enterprising-women.org home businesses.

* Labour Force Survey,

Regional analysis: number
of self employed people
usually working from home
2005/2006
21 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in Yorkshire and The Humber

Yorkshire Forward is making strides in encouraging new start-ups,
particularly amongst young people, women and the over 50s. This has
delivered an increase in businesses started at home.

Number of home based self-employed, 150492 The number of Case study

2006 self-employed Toby Hyam,
based at home in Creative Space
Importance of technology to home 87% Yorkshire increased Management
business by just over 10,000
Biggest hurdles between 2005 and Toby Hyam
Financial stability 55% 2006.* This could has played a
be on account of significant part in
Finding customers 28%
Yorkshire Forward’s accommodating
Reasons for starting at home focus on the start- home business
Better work life balance 64% up groups that are owners in and
most likely to be around Yorkshire. As Chief Executive
Lower overheads 51%
home based. of The Media Centre in Huddersfield,
Toby pioneered new services including
Yet Yorkshire Forward has not adopted a live/work facilities for home business
specific project to encourage home based owners and business support in the form
start-ups. The region does boast however of a ‘virtual front desk’, IT support and
a network of centres and facilities that meeting space.
provide the services required by a growing
number of creative and digital home based After leaving The Media Centre in 2005,
businesses. Toby headed home to start his own
business, Creative Space Management, a
Yorkshire is home to the largest company that is dedicated to providing
concentration of universities in the UK world class facilities for creative, digital
and students graduating from one of and technology companies. Toby is
the region’s 8 Universities are starting continuing his good work and has secured
up their businesses from home. Almost contracts to manage centres including
a quarter of businesses created in the The Round Foundry Media Centre in
region are set up by under 35s and the Leeds which provides services for over 80
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2006 home based businesses and a new digital
revealed that entrepreneurship for 18-24 business centre in Sheffield, due to open
year olds in Yorkshire and Humberside in autumn 2008.
stood at 5.1% - higher than the UK as a
whole at 3.7%. Home businesses across Yorkshire will
thrive on account of the services and
We will watch with interest to see if these accommodation on offer from Toby and
Links businesses remain at home or move in to his team.
Yorkshire Forward the grow-on space that is readily available
yorkshireforward.com across the region. Links
Creative Space Management
* Labour Force Survey, www.creativespaceman.com
Regional analysis: number
of self employed people
usually working from home
2005/2006
22 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in Wales

The Welsh Assembly Government is taking home enterprise seriously
and this is paying dividends. At the time of hosting the Enterprise Nation
conference in Cardiff in 2006, Enterprise Minister, Andrew Davies,
opened the event by saying:

Number of home based self-employed, 105237 “Too many Case study

2006 businesses that Peter Hewlett,
start and are run Edge of Wales
Importance of technology to home 85% from homes are not Walk
business getting the level of
Biggest hurdles business support Peter Hewlett and
Financial stability 54% and recognition his wife moved
they deserve. This from Nottingham
Finding customers 32%
conference will five years ago
Reasons for starting at home make a critical in search of a
Better work life balance 62% contribution to the better quality of
debate as to how life. Having settled in Llyn, they spotted
Lower overheads 46%
these businesses can a market opportunity to provide high
be identified and quality walking holidays.
then nurtured. We have seen at first hand
in Wales the benefits that an enterprising The business, is a cooperative, a limited
mindset can deliver and we are working company with 6 local investors. Now
hard to encourage higher levels of start-up employing 4 people, the business was
and growth companies - home enterprise started from the Hewlett’s home and is
has a key part to play in achieving this growing rapidly. According to Peter, the
goal.” benefits of a home base include increased
productivity, the ability to deliver
The Minister’s words were supported longer hours because of the absence of
by research carried out in lead up to the commuting, a lower cost base that can be
conference. The report summary read: passed on to customers and being able
to provide a personal service to those
“A considerable proportion of SMEs in customers who finish up their week long
Wales run their business from home. Our walks with a refreshing cup of tea and
findings confirmed 44% of businesses Bara Brith in Peter’s house.
were based at home. Hence it is essential
that business support in Wales supports The business is doing so well that there
Links these businesses too.” are plans to build a walking centre at the
Welsh Assembly back of the house to offer accommodation
Government With a firm focus on supporting home and other services to walking guests.
www.wales.gov.uk businesses and an increase in the number
of home-based self-employed (an increase Links
Cyfenter Partnership, of over 5,000 between 2005 and 2006*), Edge of Wales Walk
Home Enterprise Report we expect to see Wales continuing to www.edgeofwaleswalk.co.uk
http://tinyurl. prosper as a home business hotspot.
com/2vrmo7

* Labour Force Survey,

Regional analysis: number
of self employed people
usually working from home
2005/2006
23 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in London

With its buzzing creative and professional service sectors, it was
inevitable that London would appear high in the home business rankings.

Number of home based self-employed, 320343 It hosts the sectors Case study
2006 that are most Paul Stuart-Smith,
attractive to home Integral FX
Importance of technology to home 85% business owners
business and the city region After a career with
Biggest hurdles has a strong Morgan Stanley in
Financial stability 44% business start-up London and New
scene. The number York, Paul Stuart-
Finding customers 35%
of self-employed Smith set up a
Reasons for starting at home working from foreign currency
Better work life balance 52% home increased by transaction
more than 17,000 business, Integral FX, from his London
Lower overheads 57%
between 2005 and apartment. The business has doubled its
2006.* turnover in the past six months and Paul
is now considering taking someone on.
The London Boroughs are becoming keen
home business advocates. In response to On working from home, Paul says “I
a question on support for home business, can start work early and have a number
CEO of Croydon Enterprise, Stella of transactions complete by the time I
Okeahialam, had this to say: take my children to school. I enjoy the
flexibility of running the business from
“The Croydon Enterprise programme home so don’t want to move out but the
is keen to encourage and support home business is prospering so I’m hoping
business activity. We want to encourage to recruit someone who will work from
individuals to turn a hobby into a business their own home. Keeping this business as
from home. We are also keen to involve a home-based business means keeping
other successful home workers to promote overheads down and productivity high.”
the concept and show how it can be done.”
Links
The only possible threat to the city’s Integral FX
position is the number of people moving www.integralfx.com
out of the city when they reach a certain
point in their life/career.
Links
London Development High property prices mean more
Agency Londoners work from the kitchen table
www.lda.gov.uk than in any other region. According to the
State of The Small Business Nation Report
Croydon Enterprise 2007, only 38% of home business owners
croydonenterprise.com in London worked from a dedicated home
office, compared to a national average of
* Labour Force Survey, 53% and 57% started out from home for
Regional analysis: number reasons of ‘lower overheads’ compared
of self employed people with a national average of 49%, so
usually working from home highlighting the impact of property prices.
2005/2006
24 Home Business Report
October 2007

Home Business in Scotland

Home business in Scotland is alive and well – more so in the rural areas
than in the urban landscape – and this is what accounts for the strong
focus on broadband provision.

Number of home based self-employed, 130704 In 2005, 35% of Case study

2006 organizations in Deborah Watson,
Scotland were Scottish Linen
Importance of technology to home 81% trading online, an
business increase from 27% Deborah Watson
Biggest hurdles in 2004. created Scottish
Financial stability 44% Linen in 2005,
Over 97% of inspired by a trip
Finding customers 33%
organisations to South Africa.
Reasons for starting at home involved in creative Only two years on
Better work life balance 71% industries, software and the company’s
& ebusiness luxury linen products can be found
Lower overheads 50%
and financial in many guest houses, holiday homes
services access the and hotels in Scotland. The company
internet. There has also been growth in exports to overseas markets including
internet connectivity in the tourism and Australia, America, Poland and Japan
agricultural industries. These are all the with an increasing product range that now
most likely sectors for home businesses. includes bath, baby and travel products.
Deborah makes full use of her website
Scotland is certainly making the most of and online shop and is living proof that
utilising the power of technology to trade. working from home is by no means a
barrier to selling worldwide.
This can also be seen in a private project
in the Highlands & Islands called ki-work. Deborah says “Being at home to provide
The project prepares people for setting stability (and do the chores!) for our
themselves up as self-employed and family-of-6 is working out well. My
home-based call agents. ‘commute to work’ is a 10-step walk to a
log cabin that overlooks Ardnamurchan’s
It also appears that home businesses lochs and hills; not even in my 30-
in Scotland are content with staying at something day-dreams was home-working
home. According to The State of the Small ever this good.”
Business Nation 2007, commissioned by
BT, 68% of home business owners are Links
not considering moving out of their home Scottish Linen
office any time soon. www.scottishlinen.co.uk

The future looks bright for Scotland. The

Links Scottish economy enjoyed an exceptional
Scottish Enterprise year of growth in 2006 and the services
scottish-enterprise.com sector is predicted to expand in 2007, a
prime sector for home business start-ups.
Ki-work www.ki-work.com
With the technology in place we feel the
Highlands and Islands full benefit of home enterprise would be
Enterprise felt with some dedicated support projects.
www.hie.co.uk
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$ISCOVERTHEREASONSWHY3OUTH7EST%NGLANDISPERFECT
FORBOTHBUSINESSANDPLEASUREVISITSOUTHWESTENGLANDCOUK

Here’s an example of an effective marketing campaign from the South

West Regional Development Agency. It appeals to home business owners
by placing an emphasis on work/life balance.
26 Home Business Report
October 2007

Appendices
Appendix I: Data sources

The following reports/data sources were reviewed in compiling this

report.

Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, SME statistics, August
2007

Labour Force Survey, Regional Analysis, Office for National Statistics, 2005/06

Enterprise Nation poll results [various, over period Jan 2006 – September 2007]

RAC Foundation, Motors and Modems report

The State of the Small Business Nation, 2007

Barclays, Quarterly SME start-up data, Quarter One, 2007

Yellow Pages and London School of Economics Research, September 2006

Under the Radar, Tracking and supporting rural home based business, Live Work
Network, July 2005

Home Enterprise – Ideas for Action, Live Work Network, September 2006

Delivering Advantage, The West Midlands Economic Strategy and Action Plan 2004 –
2010

Northwest Regional Economic Strategy 2006

Leading the way, Regional Economic Strategy for North East England 2006

Scottish Enterprise Entrepreneurship Policy

The Regional Economic Strategy for Yorkshire & Humber 2006-2015, A Summary

A Shared Vision, The regional economic strategy for the East of England

The Regional Economic Strategy 2006 – 2016, South East England

‘A flourishing region’ Regional Economic Strategy for the East Midlands

Regional Economic Strategy for South West England 2006-2015

Sustaining Success, Developing London’s economy, Economic Development Strategy

Cyfenter 2 Development Partnership, Home Enterprise Report, Welsh Assembly

Government

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, regional summaries

27 Home Business Report
October 2007

Appendix II: About the author

Emma Jones is founder of Enterprise The team
Nation, the home business website, and at Redbrick
has successfully started two businesses Enterprises Ltd
from home offices in London, Manchester work for Enterprise
and rural Shropshire. and Regional
Development
Following a career with an international Agencies that
accountancy firm, Emma started her first are looking to
home based business at the age of 27 and encourage and
successfully sold it just 15 months after support home enterprise. The company
launch. works with clients to calculate the size
and potential of home business in an
Redbrick Enterprises Ltd was founded area, through to developing marketing
in 2002 to advise the public sector on messages to communicate with home
effective homeworking. based entrepreneurs.

Spotting a gap in the market to
provide information and inspiration to
homeworkers, Emma launched Enterprise
Nation [www.enterprisenation.com], the
home business website, in January 2006.
If you would like further details of this
service or would like to comment on the
report, please contact Emma at
emma@enterprisenation.com

The website is a free resource for people

starting and growing a business at home
and has a readership of more than
250,000 people. As well as site content,
there is also a free fortnightly e-newsletter
and podcast.

Emma’s first book on how to start a

business from home will be available in
March 2008.
Redbrick Enterprises
Redbrick House • 9 Town Walls • Shrewsbury • SY1 1TW

T: 01743 272555
M: 0789 9871698
E: emma@enterprisenation.com