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Record self-employment means now is the time to start a business

Only 6pc of venture capitalist finance deals go to women-led businesses. Sophie Cornish shares a secret or two on how to get your business started. Immigration policy should be 'integration-proofed' Photo: Rex By Sophie Cornish, Co-founder, notonthehighstreet.com

7:35AM BST 18 Oct 2012


The sky may still be overcast and Bank of England forecasts for growth gloomy, but now could be a great time to start a business.

Official figures yesterday showed that employment in the UK is at its highest since records began in 1971. This is largely accounted for by the private sector companies creating jobs, but is also down to a huge surge in people starting their own firms.

Last year saw a record number of companies created – 99.5pc of which were SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises, which have a turnover of less than £25m).

Together these businesses account for 49pc of 2011’s total business turnover in the UK – and should encourage those with a good idea to go for it.

But it’s also true that it’s still hard to find finance your own business, particularly if you are looking to start one from your own pocket.


Holly Tucker, my co-founder, and I both believe that anyone can start a business with as little as £500.

So many of our partners at notonthehighstreet.com have done exactly that.

Necessity is the mother of invention, after all, and we’ve heard so many inspirational stories of women building something out of nothing. We did, too, starting out on our kitchen table – the one that now sits in Holly’s office at our HQ.

I have some advice for those women who are determined to make it happen.

First of all, in an ideal world, you would combine paid work (part-time, if possible) with the first few months, even years, of your business. Almost everyone has to wait to turn a profit as there are upfront costs to pay for, and with bills and mortgages to cover on top, you don’t want to give up the day job until you’re sure as hell you don’t need it.

When it comes to looking for start-up cash, look for a grant first. There’s a lot of noise about new government finance so there must be something to it.

Lots of grants are time-consuming and difficult to win, but well worth it if you can, so investigate fully.

Small finance can be harder to get than the bigger investment deals – so forget the bank loan and go straight for the big stuff: venture capital. Only 6pc of VC finance goes to women-led businesses.

I’m pretty sure that’s because too many women don’t feel well-versed enough in money talk to put the right plan together. But this isn’t hard to put right – indeed, it’s essential to do so.

Make sure that you either learn, or get access to, spreadsheet skills. Even if you have an accountant (and you definitely should have one), you need to be able to understand how your business finance works.

Be wary of looking to friends and family for investment – they may be inclined to lend more than they can afford to lose, and that can lead to all sorts of complications further down the line.

Likewise, personal borrowing could put your home at risk, and that’s never a good idea.

In my experience, many women are guilty of not thinking big enough when it comes to investment – but if you believe in your idea, you should put more than your credit card limit behind it.

In a survey that we commissioned recently, we found that women often start up businesses using their credit card, with grants accounting for less than 10pc of initial funding, which is bad news.

A VC wants BIG growth and a major commitment, but don’t you, too?

Yes, it’s going to be hard work but the pay off could be a working life that is run on your own terms. And who doesn’t want that?


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