According to Barclays Bank nearly half-a-million new businesses
were created in the past year, and self-employment is now at its
highest for 75 years. "The UK is in the middle of a boom for
start-ups. Our best guess is that in England and Wales we are up
4pc to 5pc in the year to November and that's on the back of two
strong years," said Richard Roberts, SME analyst at Barclays. This
is consistent with the Office for National Statistics latest Labour
Force Survey figures for October 2011 showing that a record
4,138,000 people were self-employed, up 4pc year-on-year, and the
highest number since records began.
You may find these statistics out-of-sync with the
doom-and-gloom headlines that follow every economic forecast. But
wait a moment, isn't consumer confidence the springboard for
economic recovery? Entrepreneurs are consumer's too; indeed
optimistic entrepreneurs to boot. And optimists are stoical members
of society who see prosperity where economists see austerity. Where
are they finding reason for such optimism?
Interest rates: They're confident we'll see no increase in
interest rates in 2012.
Inflation: They're confident inflation will fall in 2012.
Income: They're confident disposable income will increase in
2012.
Growth: They're confident we'll see economic growth in 2012.
Printing money: They're confident the government will print (QE)
£100 billion in 2012.
And there's more; £70 billion more to be precise! That's the
estimated value of cash corporate Britain has squirreled away to
swell its balance sheets - twice its value before the recession.
Money the optimist knows will get spent sooner or later.
At this time of resolutions, shouldn't we all take a lesson from
the optimistic entrepreneur? SMEs are the key to our economic
well-being so this blog resolves to (continue) backing them all the
way. On one condition. I urge SMEs to credit vet each-and-every
buyer and remember that an order's not an order until the invoice
gets paid. And if you won't take my word for it, then listen
instead to the words of the Roman senator and historian Tacitus
from 2000 years ago: "Reason and judgment are the qualities of a
leader."
