Research and analysis

Growing your business: a report on growing micro businesses

A report on growing micro businesses by Lord Young, the Prime Minister's advisor on enterprise.

• From: Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
• Published: 13 May 2013

Documents

Growing your business: a report on growing micro businesses

Ref: BIS/13/729

PDF, 3.28 MB, 58 pages

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Details

Lord Young published a report last year on start-ups and entrepreneurship Make Business Your Business: supporting the start-up and development of small business. He is now looking at the conditions for small businesses growth, in particular micro firms (with one to nine employees).

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) dominate the stock of businesses and the majority of these will start and remain small. Nearly 95% of all firms are micro enterprises employing less than 10 people. 75% have no employees.

Many of these businesses want to grow. Around 80% of owner managers of SMEs declare this as an aspiration. However, the evidence also tells us that less than a quarter of those SMEs that want to grow actually do. Lord Young’s review looks at the reasons why, including confidence to grow during tough economic times, strength of ambition, capability and skills, coherence of help on offer and opening up government procurement to SMEs.

See also the related reports:

• Make Business Your Business: a guide to starting and developing a new business

• The Home Business Guide: a guide to starting and growing a business from home

Published 13 May 2013