Home Business Report 2009

Compiled by
Enterprise
Nation
Home Business Report
November 2009
Enterprise
Nation
Introduction from Emma Jones

It has been a good year for home business. The number of people starting
and growing a business from home has risen to 2.8 million. Together
these businesses contribute £284 billion to the annual UK economy.
More people are ‘Working 5 to 9’ which is Growing the business without outgrowing
the term we’ve applied to those holding the home is one of five themes we focus
down a day job and building a business on in this year’s report. The other four
at nights and weekends. It’s the best way themes look at how home businesses are
to start as part-time entrepreneurs build starting out, bringing families together,
confidence and cashflow, before making a trading across borders and having a
full-time move into self-employment. positive impact on the local economy and
community.
One of the factors influencing the increase
in home business start-ups is enabling Each theme is illustrated with stories of
and affordable technology. In responses successful businesses from across the
to the 2009 Home Business Survey, 81% UK. There’s a ranking of the top 100
of respondents asserted that ‘technology home business hotspots and a summary
is critical to the success of my business’ of how business support is responding to
and the majority of home business accommodate the needs of home business
owners choose websites and blogs as owners.
their first port of call for business advice.
Technology is also playing a liberating role Great strides have been made in the
as survey respondents refer to the freedom past 12 months. It’s a year in which
and flexibility they’re enjoying from being we celebrate the UK’s first ever Home
their own boss and an improved work/life Enterprise Day, Business Link launches
balance. a national home business guide, and
central Government adopts planning
With home business, you can have it all; recommendations to encourage live/work
time with family & friends and a growing developments.
business. A significant 89% of survey
respondents confirmed they expected Yet more needs to be done to encourage
turnover to increase in the next 12 the sector to fully flourish and the final
months. It is business growth, but not as section of the report calls on various
we know it. Home business owners are bodies to take action. I hope our calls will
growing turnover, not headcount. They be heard and heeded.
are outsourcing and sub-contracting as
opposed to taking on staff. This re-defines Emma Jones
our attitude towards growth which has Founder, Enterprise Nation
historically been based on number of
people on the payroll. In this report we
call on the Government to ensure business
support projects and policies are aligned
with this modern approach to building a
business.
November 2009
Introduction from John Anderson

Through our regional relationships and activities we are fully aware that
the nature and shape of business enterprise is changing. Despite the
challenging economic times many have reacted positively, taking the
opportunity to start their new businesses from home, at the heart of their
communities.
This report highlights that an incredible Faster broadband is considered to be the
32% of respondents to the Home Business technology most likely to impact positively
Survey started their business in the last on business. Businesses who need to
12 months, many turning redundancy exchange large files and/or graphics is
into opportunity or inspired by the desire just one example but the possibilities are
for more flexibility and control in their endless. Mobile technology is also creating
working lives. We are seeing more start- an impact. The flexibility of working from
ups than ever before entering traditional offices, homes or just about anywhere is a
roles and professions working from home further enabler for networks of people to
alongside a new breed of entrepreneurs work together, wherever they happen to
diversifying to create new types of be.
businesses.
It is clear that home based entrepreneurs
Home-based businesses are thinking are the lifeblood of their local
differently and we believe that the communities and regional economies.
recession has been a factor in spurring Now more than ever the right support
on this innovation. There are more and resources must be available to allow
skilled people in the labour market than them to compete and prosper today and
in previous years who are able to take beyond. In BT we will continue to work
work when it’s available and when it suits with partners across the regions and
them. The availability and increasingly nations championing the small business
wide-spread deployment of technology is community to help them survive and
driving many of these changes. The results thrive.
of the Business Pulse, the largest survey
of small businesses to be undertaken John Anderson
this year, showed that businesses who Managing Director, BT Regions
consider it essential to be at the forefront
of technology are the ones also saying
that they have been least impacted by the
recession.
4 Home Business Report
November 2009
“It’s an inspiration to see so many people boldly responding to the recession by

starting new businesses from home. The Home Business report shows technology to be
a key enabler to this trend with 81% of survey respondents stating that technology is
critical to the success of their business. It’s great to see that businesses in this sector are
also early adopters of social media, with 74% using social networking sites, such as
BT Tradespace, to attract new customers and defy the challenges of today’s economic
climate. This is a fascinating time and a moment in history when we are seeing the
greatest and most prosperous shift in working lives. The tools and advice are all there.
Be prosperous and enjoy them.”
Bill Murphy Managing Director BT Business
“One of the most significant features of the present post-industrial era is the
breakdown of the sharp distinction between spaces of work and home. The home is
increasingly becoming a place of work rather than a respite from it.
“This trend is clearly reflected in the entrepreneurial economy, with more businesses
started in the home than from separate premises.
“Indeed, it has never been easier to start a business from home. Information and
communication technology are becoming ever more powerful, access to open source
software is increasing, the internet enables e-commerce and collaborations between
individuals who are geographically separate, and virtually every business function
can now be outsourced.
“Even more significantly, the home is not simply a temporary location. The majority
of home based businesses continue to operate from home as they mature. Hence,
any discussion of entrepreneurial activity has to recognise that the home is, and will
continue to be, the most popular business start-up location.”
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2007/08

November 2009
“The majority of small businesses operate from the founder’s home. Despite this,
they are unappreciated and ignored in the economic development strategies of local,
regional and national governments.
“This reflects a combination of their invisibility and the lack of an evidence base,
resulting in a stereotype which dismisses them as lifestyle businesses, largely run
around family needs and economically insignificant.”
Prof Colin Mason, University of Strathclyde
“If you start a business right, you grow it better and one should question just about
everything one spends in a startup. Think of it as weight. The more money you spend
the heavier your business is and the more it weighs you down. The less you spend the
easier it is to keep afloat, the less revenue it takes to stick around and the more likely
you are to survive your first year. Home businesses are light weight and light touch
and anything that encourages this sector to flourish should be welcomed.”
Doug Richard, CEO, School for Startups
“In running the business from home, I’m reducing travel, encouraging people to have
a work life-balance and working at the same time as managing not to neglect my
family. To recognise the contribution I’m making (along with all other home business
owners), a clear government policy and supportive taxation approach would be
brilliant.”
Home business owner, Somerset

November 2009
Report partners Working with partners and organisations Report Contributors

This report has been compiled by across UK Regions, BT is helping to With thanks to Professor Colin Mason of
Enterprise Nation and is sponsored by stimulate and educate home based The Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship
BT. businesses of all sectors to fully at the University of Strathclyde, and
understand the role and benefits that InfoUK, for their contribution to this
With thanks to BT for their continuing ICT and communications can play; Report.
support in enabling the production of this helping them to grasp the opportunities
report. it presents to grow and prosper their Hunter Centre for
business. Entrepreneurship
About Enterprise Nation The Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship,
Enterprise Nation For more information visit located at the University of Strathclyde, is
[www.enterprisenation.com] is the home www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTregions/BTregions.htm a world-class centre of entrepreneurship
business website. Over 100,000 people education, research and outreach. The
visit the site each month to read lively BT Business Hunter Centre teaches over a thousand
features and watch the home business BT Business is BT’s specialist division students a year and is recognised as one
show. In addition to the site, Enterprise dedicated to serving the UK’s small of the largest, most successful university
Nation hosts the Home Business Awards, and medium-sized businesses. It works centres of entrepreneurship in the UK
produces the annual Home Business with more than 1 million businesses and Europe.
Report and offers resources in the form of across the UK offering advice and IT
books and online tools to anyone starting and communications services that allow Professor Colin Mason, who has assisted
or growing a business from home. businesses to focus on what they do with this report, is a world-recognised
best – from start-ups and home-based expert in Business Angel and Venture
Enterprise Nation also lobbies central, enterprises to significantly larger multi- Capital. With over 150 published
regional and local government on the site organisations. papers to his name, he is author of
topic. ‘The Characteristics of Home Based
BT Business offers a complete range of Businesses, July 2008’
For more information visit services to help businesses thrive, helping
www.enterprisenation.com them to manage their costs better, be For more information, visit
www.twitter.com/e_nation more productive, extend their business www.strath.ac.uk/huntercentre
reach and be responsive to customers.
About BT Info UK
BT is one of the world’s leading providers From, BT Tradespace With headquarters in Manchester,
of communications solutions and (www.bttradespace.com), the first social infoUK is a business data and marketing
services operating in 170 countries. business network to launch in the UK, company that helps businesses find
Principal activities include networked IT which gives small businesses a quick and new customers, grow sales and their
services, local, national and international effective way of making their business profitability. infoUK compiles and
telecommunications services, and higher stand out online, build lasting business verifies its extensive business database,
value broadband and internet products relationships and sell effectively to containing information on more than 2.2
and services. flexible working solutions that ensure million businesses, through an in-house
businesses can work from where ever team of telephone researchers who make
BT Regions they choose. over 40,000 calls a week. The company
In the regions BT is at the heart of the provides the latest information for direct
home business community. BT has BT Business Insight offers free advice and mail, telemarketing, mobile SMS and
specifically aligned itself with the English guidance to smaller enterprises for all email marketing purposes. The company
Regional Development Agency (RDA) stages of building a successful business at has compiled the top 100 home business
boundaries, Wales and Scotland to better www.insight.bt.com hotspots ranking for the purposes of this
understand and respond to the needs of report.
home based businesses. For more information on how BT
Business can help small businesses go to infoUK provides a wide range of data and
www.business.bt.com marketing services to small and medium-
sized businesses and home businesses,
including email marketing campaigns
and online data cleansing to ensure all
contact details are up-to-date, accurate
and fully compliant with the Data
Protection Act.
For more information, visit

www.infouk.com
November 2009
Contents
Report Highlights 8
A Journey of Discovery 10
Five Key Themes

Growing the business without outgrowing the home 12
Working 5 to 9 17
Start business. Trade with the world. 20
Family ties 24
The local impact 28
(incorporating Top 100 Home Business Hotspots)
Enabling Home Enterprise: A call for action 35
Appendices
Appendix I: 2009 Home Business Survey results 40
Appendix II: Bibliography 48
Profiled home businesses

London Bodie and Fou and Minimyne
South West Portfolio Directors
Scotland Miso Funky and Tartan Twist
North East Useyourlocal.com
Yorkshire & The Humber Lorraine Ellison and Cheryl/Katey Walsh
North West Curl Harmony
South East The Fine Cotton Company
East Midlands Peak Princess and Swiss Luggage
West Midlands Another Gorgeous Day
Wales Gower Cottage Brownies
East of England Peruvian Knitwear
Northern Ireland Iddictive
November 2009
Report highlights
Home business across the regions/nations • There are 2.8 million businesses operating full time from
home, contributing £284 billion to the annual UK economy.
Region/nation No. of home Contribution This is an increase of 300,000 businesses over the past 12
businesses to UK annual months.
economy
(£bn)* • The recession has contributed to this increase with 32% of
London 540,176 67.3 respondents in the Home Business Survey having started
South East 448,247 44.9 their business in the past 12 months. This is on account of
redundancy, or people opting for a new career path that
East of 286,161 28 involves regaining control over their working life; 49% of
England respondents confirmed what they are enjoying most about
North West 258,581 26.1 being their own boss is ‘freedom to make my own decisions.’
South West 266,519 21.9
• Whether starting a business out of necessity or choice, an
West Midlands 207,190 21.4
increasing number of people are basing the business at home.
Yorkshire & 199,293 18.8 According to the 2009 Business Pulse*, of businesses started
The Humber in the past 2 years, more than double the number of people
East Midlands 183,411 18.3 started from home (22%) as opposed to out of home premises
Scotland 186,327 18 (9%)
Wales 116,767 9.1 • The most popular factors selected in the Home Business
N Ireland 71,300 7.7 Survey for starting from home were lower start-up costs (57%),
North East 78,573 6.7 better work/life balance (52%) and being close to the family
(33%)
* These figures are estimates and are calculated from the
regional datasets given for Small and Medium Enterprise • Home businesses started before the recession have not had
Statistics for the UK and Regions 2008, published on to dramatically change their strategy or practices. According
Wednesday 14 October 2009. Source: Department for Business
Innovation & Skills to the 2009 Business Pulse, of the 37% of businesses who
said they had ‘noticed no changes’ in the way they operate
on account of economic conditions, 47% were home based
businesses, compared with 28% of non home based businesses. We attribute this
‘business as usual’ policy to the fact that home businesses are operating on low
overheads, making the most efficient use of technology, and often selling into niche
markets.
• Home businesses are growing by outsourcing and subcontracting work, as opposed

to taking on staff. 89% of home businesses expect to increase turnover in the next
12 months and plan to do so by using freelancers/outsourcing (45%), and making
greater efficiency of existing resources (42%) Only 4% of respondents said they
would grow by hiring full time employees.
• Technology remains a key enabler to starting and growing a business from home
and home businesses are early adopters of social media, with 81% of survey
respondents stating that technology is critical to the success of their business and
*
Over 7,200 small businesses 74% using social networking sites to keep in touch with other businesses.
contributed to the 2009 Business
Pulse, the UK's largest survey of • Technology also offers the potential for increased international trade. Coupled with
small businesses this year. It was
commissioned by BT Business, tailored advice on how to access overseas markets and find local partners, this could
NatWest, British Chambers of be a powerful driver of economic activity.
Commerce, Business Link, ACCA,
Growing Business, everywoman
and supported by The Design
Council and The Prince's Trust.
November 2009
• There has been a 9% increase in ‘Working 5 to 9’ – the term we apply for people
holding down a day job and building a business at nights and weekends. It’s the best
way to start as business owners build confidence and cashflow before moving full
time into self-employment.
• The sectors showing the most significant growth are business services (business
consultancy, legal, accountancy, architecture/design, training, outsourced services)
and consumer services (arts/crafts, domestic repairs/services, beauty/wellness,
tutoring, caring)
• The over 50’s are well represented when it comes to home business; 68% of Home
Business Survey respondents are between the ages of 36 and 59, with the majority
(36%) falling in the 45-59 age group. This is reflected in the 2009 Business Pulse
that showed of the almost quarter of respondents who were over the age of 55, more
than double (30%) were running their business from home, compared with an out-
of-home location (17%)
• Home business is bringing families together and we are seeing the emergence of
multi-business homes where more than one business is run under a single roof. 18%
of households responding to the Survey are home to at least one business and we
expect this figure to continue to rise.
• The Top 100 Home Business Hotspots ranking is based on an analysis of

550,000 SoHos (Small Office Home Office) and shows the areas with the greatest
concentration of home based businesses. In terms of the regions with the largest
numbers of areas appearing in the Top 100 listing, the South East leads, followed by
Yorkshire & The Humber.
• The areas that do act to encourage and support home business will reap benefits for
their local economy and environment. Based on a study by Bradford University it is
estimated that having BT employees working flexibly and from home has reduced
commuting costs, saved 12m litres of fuel and reduced CO2 emissions by 97,000
tonnes
• When asked ‘what is the one thing you would like to see in your area that would
help your business’, 43% responded with ‘events & networks for home business
owners’ which is, in turn, driving the growth in home business hub facilities.
• There is more that could be done when it comes to tailored business support. When
starting out, home business go online to seek advice and support (27%) closely
followed by turning to government bodies such as Business Link (25%) but 16% of
respondents confirmed they don’t go anywhere for advice.
• The majority of home businesses fund their start-up through personal savings (75%)
with the next preferred option being friends & family (20%)
• What else did we learn in 2009? That the spare room retains its top spot as the
location of choice for the home office!
November 2009
A journey of discovery
As well as contacting over 1,230 of our members for the 2009 Home
Business Survey we also for the first time ever embarked on a home
business roadtrip. Over the course of the week commencing 14th
September the Enterprise Nation team journeyed 1,233 miles, filmed
18 home businesses and picked up further data around the five themes
reflected in this report. This is what we saw and heard…
Now is a great time to start

The mood throughout the week was incredibly upbeat. When Patrick Elliott (CEO
of Business Link in London) opened an event with a question to the audience of ‘Do
you think this is a good time to start a business?’ – a ripple of 200 voices replied a
resounding ‘yes’.
Technology means trade

All of the businesses filmed are making the most of technology, whether it be Stuart
Mills [www.useyourlocal.com] who is applying the web to the pub world, or Malcolm
Gallagher [www.bizvision.biz] who is communicating his business message through
online videos; produced from a home studio. Many of the craft businesses are using
sites such as Etsy.com and MyEhive.com to sell their products to a national – and
international – audience. Technology is broadening the trade and partnering horizons
of many a small business.
Freedom & control

Having started up, home business owners are finding freedom and flexibility in their
working lives and relishing being in control of their creativity, working environment and
earnings.
November 2009
Ethical
Every business owner interviewed is doing something ‘good’ by being in business;
whether it be Clare Nicolson [www.clarenicolson.com] who believes in giving work
to the people in her neighbourhood, Emma Henderson [www.showpony.co.uk] who
sources fair trade fabrics from India or Emma Warren [www.portfoliodirectors.
com] who offers time and business experience to a charity. They would not refer to
themselves as ‘ethical entrepreneurs’ as such but these business owners are having an
impact in many a varied way.
Growth through outsourcing

The adage of ‘do what you do best and outsource the rest’ is being taken seriously.
Companies are partnering up and work is being outsourced to professionals. Technology
tools such as VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol), email and project management
software means there’s no need to be in the same place but for others, physical networks
are important as a place to meet business partners, and also just to have a social chat!
Locations visited
• Scotland - Glasgow
• North East – Whalton and Newcastle
• London
• South West – Bristol and Exeter
• West Midlands - Shropshire
November 2009
Theme I:
Growing the business without outgrowing the home
Home based businesses are following the principle of ‘do what you do best and
outsource the rest’ – they are growing the business through increasing turnover, not
headcount, and sub-contracting to expert freelancers and professionals, as opposed to
taking on staff.
In response to the 2009 Home Business Survey, 89% of respondents confirmed they
expected turnover to increase over the next 12 months. When asked how this growth
would come about, the results were as follows:
The figure of 45% saying they will grow through using

Will this planned growth require you to
freelancers and outsourcing is an 8% increase on the response
take on new employees?
to the same question in 2008 (37%); confirmation that
Yes - full-time employees 4% outsourcing is on the rise.
Yes - part-time employees 9%
No - will use freelancers or will outsource 45% In findings from the 2009 Business Pulse, of the 60%
of businesses questioned with less than 5 employees, a
No - greater efficiency of existing 42% significantly higher number of businesses with 1 employee
resources were home based (49%) as opposed to out of home (6%) and
41% of businesses with 2-5 employees were home based,
compared with only 28% based in offices outside the home.
Will this planned growth require you to take on new employees?

Total Based at home Not based at home
1 26% 49% 6%
2-5 34% 41% 28%
6-25 18% 7% 29%
26-50 8% 2% 14%
51-100 6% 1% 11%
101-200 5% 1% 8%
201-250 2% 0% 4%
More than 250 0% 0% 0%
Source: BT Business Pulse Survey, October 2009
Home business owners are staying small when it comes to number of employees, yet
are ambitious to achieve growth in turnover. This is happening successfully through
outsourcing non core functions to experts and professionals.
Functions such as:
• Admin
• Accounting
• Fulfilment
• Sales & Marketing
• Web design and development
• Pay-as-you go software and services
November 2009
This move is presenting service providers with clear opportunities.
“We have seen a significant increase in custom from home business owners as they
ask themselves why they should hire someone to take calls when Moneypenny can do
the job at a competitive cost, and without the commitment that comes with taking on
staff.”
Joanna Swash, Marketing Director, Moneypenny PA
“The rise of the VA (virtual assistant) industry goes hand in hand with the increase
we’re seeing in outsourcing. People starting and growing a business know they need
to have admin covered but are reluctant to hire someone to do this full time, on the
payroll. Working with a VA means working on a project and agreed fee basis. I fully
expect to see more businesses grow by hiring services, as opposed to people.”
Carmen MacDougall, VA Coaching and Training Company
The move to outsource is also leading to the launch of a number of websites that match
business owners with the talent they seek, such as www.peopleperhour.com and
www.businesssmiths.co.uk
As explained by Professor Colin Mason:

“More and more costs of doing business are becoming variable rather than fixed on
account of increasing opportunities to outsource (e.g. distribution and shipping),
reducing start-up costs.
“For example, internet sites make it possible to recruit freelance programmers and web
designers from around the world. Powerful ICT technology in the form of cheap and
powerful personal computers and software, and other innovations (e.g. express parcel
delivery, printing and copying) have provided small businesses with the power, scope
and access of large companies, enabling them to look, perform and compete like large
businesses, but without sacrificing the independence and flexibility of being small.
“Small businesses are increasingly able to access technology through ‘plug and
play’ access and open source hardware. Online social software and other connective
technologies are encouraging collaborative relationships between small businesses.”
This modern form of business growth presents a challenge and opportunity to business
support providers.
November 2009
Call to action
We call on central government, development agencies and business support bodies,
to ensure business support programmes and projects are aligned to this new and
modern form of company growth. Grants and support should be allocated on growth in
earnings, as opposed to growth in employees. Reward and recognition should be given
to companies working to expand their websites, not warehouses.
Home based businesses may not be employing staff full time but they are pumping
money round the economy by utilising the services of contractors, freelancers and
other self-employed professionals. This should be more keenly taken into account in
the design and development of business support programmes and grants/incentive
schemes.
“Home-based business seems to be offering policy makers a win-win for both the
economy and the environment. So why is policy making so dominated by the old
economy approach to employment premises and enterprise?”
Tim Dwelly, Director, Live Work Network
Bodie and Fou

Karine Kong is one of the two founders behind online boutique, Bodie and Fou; the
other founder is Karine’s sister, Elodie. Together they are building a successful, and
international, business by outsourcing to experts and partners.
“Elodie and I launched www.bodieandfou.com in May 2005, two weeks before I

gave birth. We were super naive and thought it would be this amazing ‘wow’ in cyber
space but in fact the first month we got one sale and the in the second month our
sales increased by 100% and we got two! Luckily things picked up pretty quickly
after that with the business growing around 100% per annum – even last year in the
tight conditions, and it also looks like it is on track to do the same this year.”
The sisters run the company from two home offices in different countries. Karine
takes care of the day-to-day running of the business whilst Elodie focuses on the
creative aspects and together they work on finding designers and exploring new
areas in which the business can grow. Rather than take on extra staff, Karine and
Elodie decided to outsource website design/development and accounting; both
functions being carried out by home businesses based in Bristol.
“Outsourcing work to Jim (our web man) and a dedicated bookkeeper means I can
spend more time on building our collection and our brand. Technology makes this
an easy relationship; we use Skype, email and the telephone and it just goes to show,
it doesn’t matter where you work, the job can still get done. This is how we intend to
keep on growing the business.”
• www.bodieandfou.com
November 2009
Swiss Luggage
Swissluggage.com is one of a family of websites retailing top quality luggage,
daypacks and other travel accessories. It’s a family run business run by a husband
and wife team who are employed by day and run their business at nights and
weekends. Making it even more important that they ensure every minute they spend
on the business, counts.
As the business has developed they have outgrown the garage, imported a higher
volume of stock and rented local pay as you go Warehousing. They got to a point
following their Christmas peak where they realised they did not get into the business
to spend their free time picking and packing; they wanted to focus their time on
developing the site, brand, affiliates and winning new customers.
Managing Director of the business, Brent Shaw, decided to check out a new
fulfilment provider, myWarehouse:
“As you can imagine it was a nervous decision to outsource as it’s like letting go of a
child and giving it to someone else to look after – this was our baby and it was very
important that we felt someone else would continue to manage our pick, pack and
ship solution in the same way and with the same expectations we had set out. Five
months on, we are happy, orders have risen month on month and we have been able
to focus on further developing the Swiss Luggage brand”
• www.swissluggage.com
Portfolio Directors
Emma Warren knows a good deal about growing businesses. That’s because she’s
been involved with a fair few of them; managing them, buying them and financing
them. She’s now applying her experience and expertise to running her own business,
Portfolio Directors, which is based in Emma’s stylishly converted garage:
“We have a dedicated team of five, and work with owners and company directors to
get them past tricky stages in their business cycle. In the team of five there are three
working Mums. One of the Mums works from home and comes over every couple
of weeks, and the other Mum and I flex our time to make sure we can do Sports
Day etc – the business has been set up so you never feel guilty about working from
home/missing work to do something you need to do for yourself.”
As well as offering flexible employment, Emma is a role model case study when
it comes to outsourcing work as she partners with other companies and utilises
technology to ensure her company can continue to grow (without outgrowing the
home) and offer top advice to clients:
“We are currently evaluating cloud computing developments. This involves creating
secure client areas with information dashboards – using SharePoint or Huddle –
which are online document facilities. It’s important to have a scalable solution and
with this the sky’s the limit!”
• www.portfoliodirectors.com
November 2009
The Fine Cotton Company

Jane Robson had a career background of working for top high street brands
including Debenhams, Top Shop, Homebase and Habitat. But after adopting
her daughter she was looking for a more flexible way of life. She’s found that in
being the boss of The Fine Cotton Company which supplies organic bedlinen and
homewares and is growing by successful outsourcing.
“I run the business on my own and have learned many new skills in the last 18
months. It has been a steep learning curve for me. I have done various short courses
in a wide range of business related subjects to gain knowledge.
“If I’m unable to tackle something I call in friends who specialise in certain areas to
help. Generally I have someone working with me most weeks. I outsource any areas
of expertise that I need such as the website design, photography and accounts.”
Jane also turns to the specialists when it comes to storing stock and fulfillment.
At the start, Jane was using a local warehouse and packing and distributing
orders herself but as orders increased she recognised it was more cost effective to
outsource.
“The distribution team are experts in their field and make a much better job than I
could do!”
Jane plans to continue growing the business over the next six months by focusing on
customer service and satisfaction and continuing to outsource to the professionals.
• www.thefinecottoncompany.com
November 2009
Theme II:
Working 5 to 9
The number of people holding down a day job and building a business at nights and
weekends has increased from 33% in 2008 to 42% in 2009. We have termed this form
of business start-up as ‘Working 5 to 9’ and it’s clearly taking off!
Do you run your business part time from There are a few factors explaining why this is happening:
home?
Protection against redundancy
2008 33% Employees concerned about their job prospects have responded
2009 42% by building a business on the side to safeguard against future
loss of employment and earnings.
Unleashing creativity
Many 5 to 9’ers do something quite different to their day job and see the business as a
creative outlet.
Technology advances
Technology at affordable prices has enabled Working 5 to 9 to flourish. A mix of gadgets
and applications keep you in touch with business round the clock and with PayPal
predicting a boom in online spending (from £8.9 billion in 2009 to £21.3 billion in
annual sales by the end of 2011), many 5 to 9’ers are turning to the web to promote and
sell products.
It’s the best way to start

Being in the position of having an idea yet needing the time for it to develop and sales to
grow, means starting out whilst holding down a day job is simply the best way to start.
You get the security of a salary whilst building confidence and cashflow in your new
business.
Factors pointing to this trend include:
• Peak hours for accessing the internet are from 5 to 11pm, according to one of the
most sophisticated research programmes undertaken in to broadband speeds in
January 2009*
• The number of Britons with a full-time or hobby eBay business has grown 160% to
178,000 in 2 years **
• Research carried out with office supplies company, Staples, in May 2009 showed an
increase in footfall to their stores between the hours of 5 and 8pm. ***
*Source: OFCOM and
Samknows.com Research from • In a poll carried out by BT Tradespace in October 2009, 65% of respondents
tests run through monitoring confirmed they were building their business at evenings and weekends with 35% of
units connected to around 1,500
homes and a range of suppliers’
respondents as full time business owners.
services.
** eBay annual results, 2008
*** ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to
start a business in your spare
time’ by Enterprise Nation, with
support from Staples. This is the
title of a book to be released by
Enterprise Nation in January
2010
November 2009
Call to action
Working 5 to 9 is a way of working – and a route to starting a business – that should
be actively encouraged. It’s low risk, low cost and gives people time to develop the
confidence required to ease out of employment and into self-employment.
Support programmes should ensure they do not exclude this community of part-time
entrepreneurs by having support available only on weekdays and during office hours.
Jonathan Dowden, enterprise manager at North East agency, Entrust, has been trialling
a 5 to 9 business support hotline and says:
“Having recognised a rise in the number of people starting a business whilst holding
down a day job, we wanted to ensure our support was tailor-made for this audience.
We launched a 5 to 9 telephone service so 5 to 9’ers can call and access support at a
time to suit them. The service has been available since July 2009 and is growing in
popularity.”
We call on more enterprise agencies and business support providers to follow this
example.
Miso Funky
By day, Claire Brown is a sub text writer for a TV company in Glasgow. It’s a job
she enjoys but doesn’t feel utilises her full creative talent. Which is why when she
returns home at night, she becomes boss of Miso Funky, a craft business selling
handmade goods via Claire’s own online store and Etsy.com
When not operating in the virtual world, Claire also sells her products at craft fairs
and markets; a good number of which are organised by Glasgow Craft Mafia, of
which Claire is an active member.
“Ideally, I would like to build sales in Miso Funky so I can give up the day job but
as each product is hand made, I’m now considering how I grow a business that’s so
dependent on my time and efforts. I’m working on it so please come ask me again in
12 months!”
• www.misofunky.com
November 2009
Curl Harmony
Nadine Harding was in full time employment when she came up with the idea for
Curl Harmony. “I always intended to stay in employment and be a 5-9er, however, I
was made redundant in June 2008 before I launched the business. I used this extra
time to focus completely on my ideas.”
The idea had come because Nadine found it difficult to find natural products for her
own afro hair and by researching the market realised others were having the same
struggle. She turned her spare room in to a lab and started to experiment.
“I gave samples to friends, family and also strangers to evaluate. Their positive
feedback gave me the confidence to go to market with my products.”
Nadine manufactures, fills and labels all the bottles by hand but this may not be for
much longer. Business has picked up so much in the past 12 months that Nadine is
in need of help:
“I’ll be looking to contract out the manufacturing side of the business to free up
more time to concentrate on marketing and sales so I can keep growing this 5 to 9
occupation that keeps me going!”
• www.curlharmony.co.uk
Another Gorgeous Day

Barbara Steadman refers to her life as a case of ‘numbers by day’ and ‘words by
night.’ That’s because her day job is being a Finance Director for a College and her
evening activity is running online gift store, Another Gorgeous Day. The company
provides gifts with special quotes.
To set up this 5 to 9 business, Barbara has had some helping hands from the family.
“My Dad helped with my show stand and store room. Mum is chief data input clerk
for the website, my sister keeps me focused and then my husband stupidly said
one night “is there anything I can do to help”? The next day I enrolled him on a
photography course so he can take all the product shots. Most importantly, they all
give me encouragement and are very proud of what I am doing.”
With an impressive and professional website, the business is growing nicely and
Barbara’s plan is to build sales so she can concentrate full time on being her own
boss. With growing sales comes a need for more product photos so her ultimate
ambition is to have hubby leave his job too!
• www.anothergorgeousday.com
November 2009
Theme III:
Start Business. Trade with the world.
In his paper ‘Characteristics of Home Based Businesses’, Professor Colin Mason made
the point:
“The proportion of home based businesses deriving more than half their sales from
overseas customers – although very low (6%) – is actually greater than for other
SMEs indicating the presence of a small proportion of home based businesses that are
highly export oriented.”
Horsham District Council has pioneered events for resident home based businesses for
a number of years. In research commissioned by the Council in 2008, it was reported
that of the home businesses surveyed, 15% were serving international markets (Abacus
Insight, 2008).
In Summer 2009, the eBay quarterly online index confirmed the natural match between
online business and international trade:
“There has been a huge increase in the number of exports as online businesses take
advantage of the cross border sales opportunities presented by the internet. Selling
online allows sellers to reach a wider market with low overheads which is critical in
the current economic climate. There was a 127% increase in cross border online trade
in 2008 compared with 2007.
“With the Euro now significantly stronger against the Pound, export opportunities
in 2009 are even greater than a year ago. So, we expect cross border trade within
Europe to grow even further over the next 12months as sellers take advantage of the
changing exchange rate.”
Yet we feel there is a need for advice on expanding into overseas markets to be made
more readily and clearly available to home based businesses.
Approximately what proportion of your In responses to the 2008 Home Business Survey when asked
revenue come from foreign sales? ‘In the next 6 months, what do you plan to do?’ 19% responded
‘expand internationally’ yet in this year’s survey evidence shows
the majority of respondents having nil or under 5% of their
Nil 67% revenue coming from international sales.
Under 5% 20%
6-24% 8% The potential to increase international sales is not being
realized, yet could be with dedicated advice around the topic
25-49% 3% of international marketing and seeking local partners. The
50-99% 2% technology is in place and home businesses feel comfortable in
100% 0% using the tools and applications at their disposal. There is also a
physical infrastructure, through the global network of serviced
office providers. What is lacking is a clear route to access
training on the cultural and growth aspects of expanding into
new and international markets.
November 2009
An example from the arts/craft sector:

From home to international markets
• Upload products to platforms such as Etsy and My Ehive.com

↓
• Utilise sites such as Lingo24.com and Translate Media for translation
↓
• Ship products around the world via courier services such as parcelmonkey.com
↓
• Accept international payments with PayPal
↓
• Have a local address through virtual and serviced office provider such as Regus or
find work space through sites such as istopover.com
↓
• Reach new audiences and sell to the globe
“The internet, money transfer mechanisms, reliable global shipping, the decline in
informal trade barriers and networks created through immigration have all made it
easier for small businesses to serve global markets.”
Prof Colin Mason
“MyEhive.com offers artisans a window to the world. When sellers upload their
handmade items they open themselves up to an international marketplace. With
demand for British arts, craft and fashion on the rise, home based businesses are
making sales to customers overseas but I think they could generate even more custom
with training that introduces sellers to the opportunities in international markets and
to local suppliers/stockists and partners.”
Louise Campbell, MyEhive.com
Call to action
Websites offer an affordable and always-on platform to make sales across the globe.
This needs to be supplemented with tailored training on business development,
cultural awareness and partner-matching. With an international toolkit for home based
businesses, we would see an explosive increase in the level of overseas trade and sales
from UK home businesses to international markets.
UK Trade & Investment could play a role in this, as could Global Entrepreneurship
Week, by matching home businesses with peers from across the globe.
November 2009
Lorraine Ellison
Based from home in the beautiful surrounds of North Yorkshire doesn’t prevent
Lorraine Ellison from trading with the world. Having been an International Director
for a Chamber of Commerce in a job that involved organising and leading trade
missions and exhibitions all over the globe, Lorraine started her own company in
Spring 2004.
“My work now, as ever, has always involved my “network” which is always
increasing. I offer business support, marketing and pr to a range of clients
worldwide. My main client is Lord Digby Jones who is the former Director General
of the CBI and Minister of Trade & Investment. I manage his business activities and
look after his brand development, pr and media.”
The mainstay of Lorraine’s operation is her BlackBerry which is switched on 24/7

and neighbours who are on hand to offer homeworking support. “In my own tiny
village most people work from home in one way or another. Some are farmers and
one lady runs a successful dotcom business and employs a number of local people.”
As for what Lorraine most enjoys about running international projects from home:
“I would say the flexibility. I couldn’t face commuting day in and day out – it is
dead time and I would find it very frustrating. Having worked a lot on my own over
the years, in Africa and other parts of the developing world, you become very self
motivated and I find I work better in my own environment.”
Tartan Twist
Gillian Crawford and Lyndsey Bowditch are sisters. They are also co-founders of
Tartan Twist, a highly successful business selling Scottish styled jewellery at home,
and now overseas.
“We were aware fairly early on that Tartan Twist had an international appeal.
Publicity in Scottish Field Magazine and The Sunday Post, both of which have a
strong ex-pat following, led to a big boost in web sales from overseas customers.”
The company then won the contract to design the official pendant for The Gathering
2009 which was the biggest event in The Year of Homecoming 2009 and saw over
50,000 visitors, many from overseas, descend on Holyrood Park. Tartan Twist was
inundated with customers and knew they had to do something to make the most of
the appetite for their products from an overseas market.
“When an overseas customer invited us to meet up in the Far East to discuss

possible tie-ups we turned to Scottish Development International for help. They
helped fund the trip which meant we were able to make the trip sooner than we had
anticipated. We are now selling in Japan and Australia to multiple outlets and we
have had interest from the US and Italy. As a result of our experiences with overseas
customers and the help we have received from Scottish Enterprise, we have built a
strong overseas offer into our on-line shop for both wholesale and retail customers.”
• www.tartantwist.com
November 2009
Peruvian Knitwear
Amanda Ruiz came up with the idea for her business after becoming a Mum:
“When my first child was born we received lots of gifts from Peruvian relatives –
ponchos, chullos (earflap hats) and cardigans. They were widely admired and I soon
realised there was a gap in the market for clothing that was different to the high
street offer. We launched the business in September 2007 to catch the Christmas
gift market.”
Amanda visits Peru regularly to find suppliers, sort logistics and meet the local
artisans.
“I have used the HMRC website http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/ when I needed

more information on setting up a temporary VAT number to import goods, plus
information about duty: Peru is one of 16 countries where duty is not payable upon
production of a GSP – or certificate of origin.”
The company is doing well and benefiting from good publicity as journalists love the
clothes as well as the story of a Mum of two selling Peruvian woollies! Amanda is
driven by the fact that each time a sale is made, someone benefits:
“My most memorable highlight in the past 12 months was when I was chatting to my
factory owner in December. She told me that as a direct result of the orders coming
from Peruvian Knitwear, she had taken on two new members of staff. This is such
good news in these depressing days of the credit crunch. Peru is a poor country
(approx 45% of people live under the poverty line) so to learn that we have all made
a difference is excellent news.”
• www.peruvianknitwear.co.uk
Iddictive.com
Mark Nagurski may be based in Northern Ireland but he pulls on ideas and trends
from across the globe. His site, www.iddictive.com, is a melting pot of interesting
ideas and innovations that readers can apply to starting their own business or as
market intelligence.
By creating a cost-effective online presence Mark has attracted an international

readership and has bold ambitions for expansion.
• www.iddictive.com
November 2009
Theme IV:
Family ties
One of the most influencing factors when people start a business from home is to
achieve a better work-life balance, as quoted by over half of Home Business Survey
respondents. When asked how they spend extra time earned each week by dropping the
daily commute, 29% of respondents said they get more involved in family activities and
more than three quarters of respondents confirmed technology has enabled them to
achieve more flexibility in their working lives.
Home business owners are not only spending more time with family members, they are
involving them in the business; 20% of home businesses turn to friends and family for
start-up advice and in the 2008 Home Business Report 58% of respondents confirmed
that a member of the family worked with them/helped out in the business. This is now
going as far as starting businesses together or running separate businesses, yet from the
same home.
According to the Home Business Survey, 82% of homes are resident to only one home
business owner but a number of these business owners run more than one business
(73% of homes have one business owner, running only one business but 24% of
respondents confirmed at least one business being run from one home) We expect to
see an increase in ‘multi business homes’ as partners/spouses/parents/grandparents
see the benefit of running businesses together, or collaborating across respective
businesses.
“Running a home based businesses is seen as providing a flexible form of economic

activity (e.g. number of hours worked, time periods worked and location of work) and
an enhanced quality of life which people are increasingly willing to trade-off against
economic prosperity.
“The ability of a home based business to combine work with family is presented
as being a particularly attractive option for young mothers (‘mumpreneurs’). The
business enables them to keep up their professional, intellectual or artistic interests
and earn an income without compromising the needs of the family. Some studies have
also noted the benefits that children derive from having a parent, or both, who run a
home based business.”
Professor Colin Mason
“The ability to start and grow a business from home has enabled thousands of Mums
to have that much-desired combination of being able to earn a living that’s equivalent
to a full time wage, whilst being on hand for the family. Of course it’s still a juggling
act we all continue to try and perfect but having the freedom and flexibility to choose
the hours you work and being at home when the kids need you, makes for a happy and
stable family environment.”
Jayne Graham, MD, 2020 Consulting and Director, Women in the Network
November 2009
Home business is good for Mums and Dads and it’s also working well for the over 50’s.
The majority of respondents to the Home Business Survey came within the 45-59 age
range (36%) and findings from the 2009 Business Pulse show of the 23% of people
starting a business over the age of 55 in the course of the past two years, more than
double the number started from home (30%) as opposed to out of home (17%)
What this presents is an opportunity to match the business experience and connections
of ‘olderpreneurs’ with the bright young things starting businesses, straight out of
School/College/University.
This call was made by serial entrepreneur, Luke Johnson, in his inaugural lecture as
Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts in October 2009. He is a champion for the cause
of ‘olderpreneurs’ and says:
“Interestingly, the level of self-employment among the 50-plus age group is around
one in five – one and a half times the level of entrepreneurialism across all ages. I see
this trend growing because low interest rates and the death of final salary pensions
means many of those retiring will not have enough to enjoy their sunset years. They
will be forced to work to make ends meet. But sustainable self-employment can offer
financial and social fulfilment. Not only can working for yourself bring material
rewards, it is a great way to meet people and stay in touch with people from all
generations – as customers, partners, suppliers, or perhaps staff.”
PRIME is an initiative set up to assist older entrepreneurs across the UK. The charity
seeks to help anyone aged over 50 in the UK who wants to start their own business or
set up a social enterprise. Chief Executive, Laurie South, says:
“There is a good reason to look at cross-generational links as research shows that

cross generational companies seem to do better. To start a business you need passion
for a product/service, marketing and selling skills and financial understanding. Most
people have only one of these. Taking a partner is a great way of making up for the
areas in which you have no interest. That partner must not have the same skills as you
– imagine two passionate people who are not very good at looking after the money!
Your peer group friends are likely to be like you because that is why you chose them
as friends. They will not necessarily be good business partners. It is easier to find
the complementary partners in a different age group because you will be looking for
partners not friends. The key is knowing yourself and being honest about it. The next
stage is matching people up. There I think there is some scope for outside help.”
Call to action
The role played by home business owning Mums and Dads who are educating the
next generation of entrepreneurs should be recognised in national enterprise policy.
And efforts should be made to find ways of connecting business owners across the
generations so partners with complementary skills can build solid businesses together.
November 2009
Peak Princess
Lissa Cook runs her business from home in the Peak District making handmade
dresses for babies and little girls in Liberty prints.
“I had the idea for Peak Princess last June sitting in the park with my god-daughter.
I used to work in London producing news for Radio 4 and then made documentaries
in Manchester but was totally burned out. The idea to do this is not such a left-field
idea as it seems as my Mum was a dress-designer and my grand-mother a milliner.”
Lissa works from a sewing room at the top of the house and her husband, who is a
freelance writer, works from a separate office.
“We love working here together and often bounce ideas of each other during trips to
the village post office or over lunch in the garden.”
Lissa had always shown an interest in sewing & knitting and would pick up skills
from her Mum who designed for a living.
“Mum did an apprenticeship from the age of 15 and is incredibly talented. Nan
didn’t live close by and died when I was quite young so I didn’t get the chance to
learn direct from her but as she was a milliner and her father was a bespoke shoe-
maker I guess there must be something in my genes!
“I really also ought to mention my in-laws. My father-in-law, Phil, is a graphic

designer and my mother-in-law, Carol, is also artistically talented and they’ve been
wonderful and helped design the logos. Sophie, my sister-in-law, put me in touch
with Liberty and is great source of business advice. And my husband is endlessly
patient and supportive.”
Lissa’s sales are growing as she says more people are happy to order direct online.
She’s raising profile through PR and attending fairs to build the brand. The long-
term business plan is to build a strong and trusted niche brand as Lissa develops
her collection, a new boys’ range (‘Peak Prince’ of course!) and contacts with a select
number of high-end boutiques. All this activity takes place with the unstinting
support of a creative and business-minded family!
• www.peakprincess.co.uk
November 2009
Your People Count and Panda Loves Kitsch

There is not only one home business run under Cheryl Walsh’s roof, but two. That’s
because Cheryl runs her business (Your People Count) from the spare room whilst
daughter, Katey, works on her venture (Panda loves Kitsch) from the downstairs
study. Add to this a Dad/husband who works from home as an employed civil
servant, and you soon realise this home is buzzing with activity.
“My business is a training and consultancy business that offers leadership and
management packages. Katey’s business is a clothing company that makes and sells
limited edition, handmade clothing. We both work from home and I have a spare
bedroom that I use as my office and Katey uses part of her bedroom to design and
cut fabric but uses the downstairs study to sew.”
This homeworking family of three meet up at lunchtimes but prefer to go outside

the home for business advice and mentoring. Cheryl appreciates the benefits of
being her own boss and being able to run a business that fits well with family
commitments.
“Both Katey and I love our independence and being able to develop our own ideas.
The reason I left full time work was because I felt frustrated at not always being able
to move things forward if it didn’t fit in with someone else’s agenda. Katey loves the
freedom of being able to create her own designs in the way she wants to work.”
What a great way to work and see your family!
• www.yourpeoplecount.co.uk
• www.weheartpanda.com
Mimimyne
Mum-of-two Tabitha Potts is a classic example of a successful ‘mumpreneur’. After
having her two sons, Tabitha spotted a gap in the market for eco-friendly clothing
and toys for children, and decided to set up Mimimyne, which has since seen her
nominated for the Mum-entrepreneur award at the Women’s Business Conference.
Tabitha decided to run Mimimyne from home, which has helped her strike a better
work-life balance and spend more time with her sons.
Mimimyne taps into a very niche market, so the business is still enjoying great
success despite the current economic climate, something that Tabitha attributes in
part to her use of technology. “Technology has helped my business to survive the
recession by keeping my costs low and allowing me to work from anywhere”.
Tabitha has also successfully boosted traffic and sales from the website since joining
BT Tradespace, the UK’s first social networking community for small businesses.
She said: “The leads and traffic I’ve received have been excellent – when you’re
setting up your own business you need to get noticed as much as possible and with
BT Tradespace I was able to do that quickly and for free.”
• http://mimimyne.bttradespace.com
November 2009
Theme V:
The Local Impact
Local economies are springing into life on account of home business as workers stay
home during the day, avoid clogging up the roads (and polluting the environment) and
spend money in local shops and on local services.
When asked ‘what is the one thing you’d like to see in your area that would help you and
your home business?’ responses were:
• Dedicated live/work developments 8%

• Events & networks for home business owners 43%
• A unit that offers hotdesking & professional meeting space 12%
• Faster broadband/more wi-fi hotpots 37%
What this highlights is home businesses needing to connect with each other to develop
new business and relationships.
Home businesses are already connecting through social media with almost three-
quarters utilizing social networking sites to meet/interact with new businesses etc (it
will be of little surprise that Twitter is the favoured medium, winning 59% of the vote!)
but responses show an eagerness from home business owners to come together offline.
In its work to encourage and support home businesses, Horsham District Council
hosts an annual Microbiz event. Now in its 7th year, the event in 2009 attracted 423
visitors and 44 exhibitors; the highest visitor numbers on record, confirming an appetite
from home business owners to attend events that offer learning and networking
opportunities.
It is for this reason that Enterprise Nation is launching Enterprise Nation Clubs, in
partnership with a national VA (virtual assistants) network, to offer home businesses
an opportunity to get together and talk business, as well as engaging in a bit of social
banter!
Many of these meet-ups will happen in home business hub facilities that are emerging
across the UK. Director of Live Work Network, Tim Dwelly, is currently carrying out a
national research exercise looking at what makes for the perfect hub environment. He
says:
“Home business owners need a place to come together to collaborate, socialise and
share equipment. We are now seeing workhubs being set up in cities, towns and
villages to meet this demand. Live Work Network has been commissioned by the
government to report in 2010 on the best ways to run workhub facilities that support
otherwise isolated home based businesses.”
Tim Dwelly, Director, Live Work Network
November 2009
“We have had Local Authority, RDA and ERDF support to create hub facilities in
Shropshire that offer WiFi hotspots along with meeting, training and networking
facilities. Business owners appreciate a ‘community’ of like minded people and
occasionally relish the chance to get out of the home office, share ideas with others,
explore new opportunities and maybe just catch up on the social chit-chat that you
don’t get when working on your own from home. It’s vital from a business and social
perspective that home business owners get together regularly and reach new markets
and I’m sure we’ll see more facilities appearing that are dedicated to this purpose.”
Fay Easton, Director, Enterprise HQ, Shropshire
Call to action:
Regional Development Agencies and Local Authorities to support the planning and
development of hub facilities and be clear on the local approach to homeworking;
ideally scrapping business rates that deter home business owners from identifying
themselves, and are rarely levied.
Gower Cottage Brownies

Before becoming a Mum, Kate Jenkins had a background in sales, marketing and
PR. She’s putting her skills to good use in promoting her business, Gower Cottage
Brownies, which has taken off to such an extent that Kate is about to start building
works to turn her current kitchen into a purely commercial one, kitting it out in
industrial style mixers, trolleys and racking.
The work is all being done by local Gower Builders which is just one way Kate is
putting money back in to the local community. A key feature of the business is that
Kate only uses free range local eggs produced on Gower and she’s just employed her
first member of staff from the village
“I plan to take on more mums locally, as a mum myself I understand the flexibility
required and know how great we all are at multi tasking!”
Kate makes regular trips to the local post office for banking etc and uses a local
welsh courier company that delivers nationwide. Kate has been helped in return by
the Welsh Assembly and explains:
“Within Wales we are extremely lucky to have the Welsh Assembly funding a lot
of True Taste and therefore the marketing opportunities have been excellent,
I have been able to exhibit at various events in London, which would not have
been affordable to me as a small producer, allowing me to increase my market
awareness.”
This home based entrepreneur is now concentrating on increasing wholesale orders

and looking to supply high quality eateries and delicatessens across the rest of the
UK. All this activity will come back to benefit Gower which is a village pleased to
have Kate Jenkins as resident in Gower Cottage!
November 2009
Useyourlocal.com
Stuart Mills is, quite simply, trying to introduce the pub world to the world wide
web. He’s doing this through useyourlocal.com which started life as a unique pub
parcel service.
Stuart had the idea for Useyourlocal.com whilst working at Scottish & Newcastle. He
pitched the idea to colleagues at a company Dragons Den competition and won the
investment! This business, run from a home office in the quaint Northumberland
village of Whalton, is now making serious waves on the pub scene.
Stuart is signing up pubs to his service which allows them to register as parcel-
receivers for local residents and benefit from discount deals with partner companies
such as promoteyourpub.com and Samsung. Stuart’s vision is to leverage the web to
ensure the pub remains at the heart of the local community.
“As consumers we receive emails from retailers offering their products or services
but have you ever received an email from your local pub with details of upcoming
events, rooms to hire, or new menu specials? We are encouraging pubs to create
their own micro-sites and connect with customers to offer information and also
useful services such as parcel collection. With so many more people working from
home, there’s no reason why the local pub can’t become the preferred business and
meeting place .. and parcel collection point!”
• www.useyourlocal.com
November 2009
The Top 100

Home Business Hotspots
The Top 100 Home Business Hotspots are ranked by postcode and based
on home business data from infoUK, September 2009.
This data offers a different snapshot to the national SME Statistics for the UK and
Regions 2008 (Department for Business Innovation & Skills) as the Hotspots are based
on analysis of 550,000 businesses, as compared with 4.8 million for the BIS data, and
the table below lists only the top 100 home business hotspots out of a total listing of
3,235 postcode areas.
This forms part of the Enterprise Nation Index that will record ongoing and quarterly
changes to this ranking. Please contact info@enterprisenation.com if you would like
details on subscribing to the 2010 Index.
Hotspot Region/Nation
1 London (central*) London
2 Bristol South West
3 Birmingham West Midlands
4 Manchester North West
5 Glasgow Scotland
6 Sheffield Yorkshire & The Humber
7 Nottingham East Midlands
8 Southampton South East
9 Liverpool North West
10 Leicester East Midlands
11 Leeds Yorkshire & The Humber
12 York Yorkshire & The Humber
13 Northampton East Midlands
14 Edinburgh Scotland
15 Stoke On Trent West Midlands
16 Swansea Wales
17 Doncaster Yorkshire & The Humber
18 Cardiff Wales
19 Swindon South West
20 Bournemouth South West
21 Coventry West Midlands
22 Plymouth South West
23 Bedford East of England
24 Milton Keynes South East
25 Colchester East of England
26 Brighton South East
27 Lincoln East Midlands
28 Cheltenham South West
29 Derby East Midlands
November 2009
30 Norwich East of England

31 Belfast Northern Ireland
32 Gloucester South West
33 Newcastle Upon Tyne North East
34 Wolverhampton West Midlands
35 Peterborough East of England
36 Chesterfield East Midlands
37 Luton East of England
38 Warrington North West
39 Bradford Yorkshire & The Humber
40 Hull Yorkshire & The Humber
41 Stockport North West
42 Oxford South East
43 Huddersfield Yorkshire & The Humber
44 Aberdeen Scotland
45 Bolton North West
46 Maidstone South East
47 Shrewsbury West Midlands
48 Preston North West
49 Ilford London
50 Slough South East
51 Poole South West
52 St. Albans East of England
53 Barnsley Yorkshire & The Humber
54 Romford London
55 Mansfield East Midlands
56 Chelmsford East of England
57 Newport Wales
58 Telford West Midlands
59 High Wycombe South East
60 Harrogate Yorkshire & The Humber
61 Walsall West Midlands
62 Sutton Coldfield West Midlands
63 Middlesbrough North East
64 Harrow London
65 Hereford West Midlands
66 Rotherham Yorkshire & The Humber
67 Kettering East Midlands
68 Sunderland North East
69 Bath South West
70 Wirral North West
November 2009
71 Aylesbury South East

72 Wakefield Yorkshire & The Humber
73 Exeter South West
74 Worthing South East
75 Hemel Hempstead East of England
76 Stockton On Tees North East
77 Worcester West Midlands
78 Reading South East
79 Blackburn North West
80 Ipswich East of England
81 Croydon London
82 Watford East of England
83 Taunton South West
84 Salisbury South West
85 Guildford South East
86 Darlington North East
87 Portsmouth South East
88 Maidenhead South East
89 Basingstoke South East
90 Blackpool North West
91 Grimsby Yorkshire & The Humber
92 Wigan North West
93 Oldham North West
94 Solihull West Midlands
95 Scarborough Yorkshire & The Humber
96 Ashford South East
97 Gillingham South East
98 Wellingborough East Midlands
99 Ballymena Northern Ireland
100 Southend On Sea East of England
November 2009
Hotspot regions/nations
Regions/nations ranked in order of the number of high home business concentration
areas located in that region/nation:
• South East (16)

• Yorkshire & The Humber (13)
• North West (11)
• South West (11)
• West Midlands (11)
• East of England (11)
• East Midlands (9)
• London (5)
• North East (5)
• Scotland (3)
• Wales (3)
• Northern Ireland (2)
*London Central is made up of Camden, City, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea,

Lambeth, Southwark, Westminster
The London region records 5 hotspot locations but with the number of home businesses
located in these areas being so high, this places London region as the lead region when
it comes to the number of resident home based businesses.
Disclaimer
Although very extensive, the infoUK database will not contain details of every SoHo
actively trading within the UK.
November 2009
Enabling Home Enterprise:

A call for action
The themes in this report, supported by the Home Business Survey data and intelligence
underpinning it, point to an increasing number of people starting a business from home
and an ambition from existing home business owners to grow.
But is enough being done to ensure the home business sector is able to fully flourish?
We think there is room for more action across two key areas:
• Encourage more people to start a business from home

• Support existing home businesses to grow
Encourage more people to start a business from home
• Working 5 to 9
Promote this as a sensible and low-risk way to start a business and ensure support is
provided between the hours of 5-9 so this growing group of part-time entrepreneurs
can access the advice they need to accelerate company growth.
• Tailored support
The Home Business Survey revealed 16% of respondents who did not access any
form of business support. This was also reflected in the 2009 Business Pulse Survey
that showed a higher percentage of home based businesses (as opposed to out-
of-home businesses) saying business support is not essential in advancing their
business. We believe this is down to home business owners feeling support is not
sufficiently tailored to their needs. We call on Development Agencies, Enterprise
Groups and Business Links to offer tailored support via channels of information,
events and networks.
Example case study:

Information: The national Business Link network is releasing on Home
Enterprise Day a guide to starting a business from home. This is information
tailor made for the home business owner.
• www.businesslink.gov.uk/homestartup
November 2009
Example case study:

Events: Business Link in London hosts events that are clearly dedicated to home
businesses.
“We speak to and support hundreds of small business each week so we’re in a
good place to see that the number of people starting and growing a business
from home is continuing to increase. It’s a great way to start – with low cost and
low risk. And Business Link is completely focused on helping these businesses
survive, succeed and grow. Small businesses have always been resilient during
times of economic upheaval due to their ability to adapt quickly. Nowhere is that
more true than amongst home-based businesses.”
Patrick Elliott, Chief Executive, Business Link in London
• www.bllondon.co.uk
Recognise and reward

Profile the achievements of home businesses in the media, and as part of Awards and
other recognition programmes.
Example case study:

Awards: Women Into the Network is a network in North East England for women
in business. The Network hosts annual Awards and, in 2009, introduced a new
category of Best Home-based Business, North East Woman Entrepreneur of the
Year Awards 2009. The winner is announced on Home Enterprise Day!
• www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk
Example case study:

Week-long recognition: In June 2009 NFEA, the national enterprise network,
adopted home business as its theme and encouraged all enterprise agency
members to run activities during the week focused on home business.
“It’s not generally appreciated that most small businesses are based in the
owner’s home. NFEA gave special attention to this sector in June ’09 when our
members held events and promoted home business as a great way of being in
business. We will continue to play our part in promoting the home as an ideal
start-up location”
Dawn Whiteley, Chairman, NFEA – the national enterprise network
• www.nfea.com
November 2009
Encourage existing businesses to grow
Research needs and requirements

It’s only by making contact with home based businesses that enterprise agencies
and business support providers will truly understand local needs and requirements.
Consider linking with consumer surveys that target households or conducting online
polls through existing start-up websites.
Example case study:

Research: In August 2009 Business Link South East issued its South East
Business Monitor with the Hot Topic Spotlight being on home based business.
The comprehensive research report found that home based SMEs have some
defining characteristics compared to their non-home based counterparts.
“Home based businesses account for a significant minority (44%) of the region’s
SME base and as such are important contributors to the economy. It is important
that these SMEs are aware of, and are able to access the right support to help
them survive the recession and be in a position to grow when recovery comes.”
• http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/SouthEast_files/HotTopic809.pdf
Recognise new forms of company growth

By accepting that the majority of home businesses are growing by outsourcing and
sub-contracting as opposed to taking on staff. Ensure this is reflected in the design and
development of business support programmes and grants/incentive schemes.
Make international trade a viable option

Through constructing online and user-friendly toolkits and a service that matches
home businesses with international suppliers and customers. This could be achieved
through a public/private sector consortium of groups including UK Trade and Invest,
Global Entrepreneurship Week and international service companies such as BT, Regus,
Lingo24.com and online sales platforms.
Provide the opportunity for home businesses to come together

So they can identify partnerships and collaborate on joint pitches and proposals.
Example case study:

Connecting home businesses: Emily Moncuit is a seasoned connector. She runs
Icon Events in Doncaster and brings together hundreds of home based businesses
each month. One of the projects to have sprung from an Icon event is an online
tendering tool that encourages small businesses to jointly pitch for large public
sector contracts.
• www.iconevents.co.uk
November 2009
Develop the infrastructure

By supporting the development of hub facilities and clarifying the Local Authority
position on homeworking and business rates.
Example case study:

Local Authority position: The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is
taking a keen interest in home business. Since the recession hit, the Council
has seen an increase in the number of local residents heading home to start a
business. The Council’s Home Based / Self Employed Scrutiny Task Group has
carried out research and expects to clarify its supportive stance towards home
business in early 2010. This will happen through announcements on the Council
website.
• www.richmond.gov.uk
Enterprise Nation will continue to play its part in supporting the sector through being
the UK’s leading home business resource and providing:
• daily content for home business owners

• tools in the form of books/online services and Clubs to bring people together
• advice to corporates on product messaging and design
• consultancy services to Regional Development Agencies and public sector groups
wanting to engage with their local home business base
We look forward to another bright year ahead for home business, and progress on the
actions suggested above.
November 2009
Appendix I:
Results from 2009 Home Business Survey
Do you run your business full time from home? (> 30

hours per week)
42%
Response
Answer Options
58%
Percent
Yes 58.4%
No 41.6%
Yes No
29%
Are you male or female?
Response
Answer Options
71% Percent
Male 28.8%
Female 71.3%
Male Female
5% 1% 4% Please indicate your age band
22% Response
Answer Options
Percent
36%
Under 25 3.8%
26-35 22.1%
36-44 31.7%
32%
45-59 36.3%
Under 25
70 and over
26-35 36-44 45-59 60-69 60-69 5.0%
70 and over 1.3%
5%
When did you start this business?
16%
31%
Response
Answer Options
Percent
31%
This year (2009) 31.5%
16%
Last year (2008) 16.4%
Three to five years ago (2005-2007) 31.1%
This year (2009)
Last year (2008) Six to ten years ago (1999-2006) 15.5%
Three to five years ago (2005-2007)
Six to ten years ago (1999-2006) More than ten years ago (before 1999) 5.5%
More than ten years ago (before 1999)
November 2009
6%
Has this business always been home-based?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
94%
Yes 93.7%
No – used to have separate business premises 6.3%
Yes No – used to have separate business premises
Why did you start from home?

5%
Response
25%
Answer Options
23%
Percent
Lower start-up costs 57.3%
23%
14%
To be close to my family 33.2%
9%
Availability of technology 21.6%
Better work-life balance 52.2%
Lower start-up costs To be close to my family
Availability of technology
No need for an office
Better work-life balance
Reduce my carbon footprint
No need for an office 53.9%
Reduce my carbon footprint 12.5%
Is this business your only source of income?

38%
Response
Answer Options
62% Percent
Yes 62.3%
No 37.7%
Yes No
If NO, what other sources of income do you have (tick all

that apply)?
13%
Response
23% Answer Options
10% Percent
16%
Part-time employment 26.9%
29%
Full-time employment 33.3%
8%
Investment income 9.7%

Other business(s) 18.3%
Part-time employment Full-time employment
Investment income Other business(s) Pension 11.8%
Pension Other
Other 15.1%
November 2009
18%
Does anyone else living in this house also own and run a
home-based business?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
82%
Yes 18.2%
No 81.8%
Yes No
4% 2%
2%
2%
If yes – who (tick all that apply)
Response
Answer Options
Percent
Husband/wife/partner 91.1%
Adult children 2.2%
89%
Other adult relatives 2.2%
Husband/wife/partner Adult children
Other adult relatives Other adult(s) – unrelated Other adult(s) – unrelated 4.4%
Teenage children
Teenage children 2.2%
In total, and including your own business, how many

80
businesses are run from this house?
60
Response
Number of businesses
40
Percent
20
1 72.8
0
1 2 23.7
2
3
4
5
6
3 2.7
4 0.4
Number of businesses
5 0.0
6 0.4
6%
Where did you go for start-up advice?
10%
16% 4%
Response
Answer Options
11% Percent
25%
Friends/family 10.0%
28%
A professional (bank/accountant) 3.8%
A government body (Business Link) 25.1%
Friends/family
A professional (bank/accountant) Online 27.6%
A government body (Business Link)
Online Business organisation 11.3%
Business organisation
Don’t go anywhere for advice
Other
Don’t go anywhere for advice 15.9%
Other 6.3%
November 2009
Did you need to raise funding to get you up and running?

31%
Response
Answer Options
69% Percent
Yes 30.5%
No 69.5%
Yes No
If yes, where did the money come from?
Response
6% Answer Options
3%
7% 13%
Percent
3%
8% Friends/family 20.2%
3%
6%
Personal savings 75.0%
50%
The bank 9.5%
The mortgage 4.8%
Friends/family Personal savings
Credit card 11.9%
The bank
Credit card
The mortgage
Private investors Private investors 4.8%
Government or advisory service
Other
Grant
Government or advisory service 4.8%
Grant 10.7%
Other 8.3%
What is the single thing you most enjoy about being your
32%
own boss?
49% Response
Answer Options
Percent
18%
2%
Freedom to make my own decisions 48.7%
Financial stability 1.7%
Freedom to make my own decisions
Financial stability Learning new skills/pushing myself 17.9%
Learning new skills/pushing myself
Better Work/life balance
Better Work/life balance 31.6%
11%
Do you anticipate increasing turnover next year (2010)?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
89%
Yes 89.1%
No 10.9%
Yes No
November 2009
If Yes, will this planned growth require you to take on

4%
9% new employees?
42%
Response
Answer Options
Percent
45%
Yes – full time employees 3.7%
Yes – part-time employees 9.3%
Yes – full time employees No – will use freelancers or will outsource 44.7%
Yes – part-time employees
No – will use freelancers or will outsource No – greater efficiency of existing resources 42.3%
No – greater efficiency of existing resources
Approximately how many customers do you have?
24% Response
22%
Answer Options
Percent
7%
Less than 5 22.4%
25%
22%
5-10 21.9%
11-50 25.3%
51-100 6.8%
Less than 5 5-10 11-50 51-100 Over 100
Over 100 23.6%
Approximately what proportion of your revenue come

from foreign sales?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
Nil 66.8%
Under 5% 20.2%
6-24% 8.4%
Nil Under 5% 6-24% 25-49% 25-49% 2.5%
50-99% 100%
50-99% 1.7%
100% 0.4%
If yes, which part of the house is your home office?

21%
Response
Answer Options
8%
Percent
48%
11% Spare room 48.2%

4%
9% Bedroom 8.6%
The kitchen table 3.6%
Spare room Bedroom The kitchen table Living room 11.2%
Living room Garden shed/garage Other
Garden shed/garage 7.6%
Other 20.8%
November 2009
2%
What do you do with the time you save commuting?
11%
5%
Response
40% Answer Options
18% Percent
12%
Spend more time on the business 63.5%
11%
Personal development 17.2%
Exercise 19.3%
Spend more time on the business
Personal development Get involved in family activities 28.8%
Exercise
Get involved in family activities
More involved in community
More involved in community 8.6%
Relaxation
Travel
Relaxation 16.7%
Travel 3.0%
How important has technology been as a factor in

enabling you to run a business from home?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
It’s critical to the success of my business 81.4%
Very important 11.8%
Important 5.9%
It’s critical to the success of my business Very important
Important
My business does not use technology
Not important Not important 0.4%
My business does not use technology 0.4%
10%
What do you use your IT Solution at home for?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
90%
Purely for business 9.7%
For both home/family and business 90.3%
Purely for business For both home/family and business
What does a day in your business look like?

35%
Response
Answer Options
65%
Average
% Time in home office 64.65
% Time working outside of office 34.73
% Time in home office % Time working outside of office
October 2009
7%
What technologies are core to your business operations?
12%
29%
2% Response
2% Answer Options
Percent
18%
Broadband 97.5%
29%
Email 96.2%
Mobile devices 59.7%
Broadband
Email
Mobile devices
Fax 7.1%
Fax
IT Support
IT Support 8.0%
Business Apps/Online Apps/ Software as a service
Key hardware (such as servers) Business Apps/Online Apps/ Software as a service 41.6%
Key hardware (such as servers) 23.1%
What would you like your website to do for you?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
Enable us to trade overseas 17.6%
Allow us to market ourselves better 64.3%
Attract new customers 81.9%
Enable us to trade overseas
Allow us to market ourselves better Make us look bigger than we are 30.3%
Attract new customers
Make us look bigger than we are Network with other businesses 35.3%
Network with other businesses
Network with partners/suppliers Network with partners/suppliers 24.8%
Engage with customers
Encourage discussion/networking about issues that affect our business Engage with customers 69.3%
I don’t have a website but would like one
I don’t have a website Encourage discussion/networking about issues that 24.4%
affect
I don’tour business
have a website but would like one 6.3%
I don’t have a website 2.9%
0%
Do you use social networking sites to keep in touch with
26%
other businesses?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
74%
Yes 73.8%
No 25.7%
Yes No
I don’t know what a social networking site is I don’t know what a social networking site is 0.4%
* If Yes, which is your preferred channel?
Response
Answer Options
Percent
Twitter 59.2%
Facebook 36.9%
LinkedIn 53.1%
Ning 1.1%
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Ning
Other All of the above Other 6.7%
All of the above 2.8%
November 2009
Roughly how much do you spend on IT (hardware &

12% software) each year?
Response
Answer Options
28%
Percent
60%
£0-500 60.0%
£500 - £1000 28.1%
Over £1000 11.9%
£0-500 £500 - £1000 Over £1000
How has technology impacted your business?

14%
20%
11%
Response
Answer Options
Percent
17%
24%
Reaching new audiences/international reach etc 58.7%
14%
Better work-life balance/flexible working 70.6%
Enabled growth 43.0%
Reaching new audiences/international reach etc
Better work-life balance/flexible working
Enabled growth
Improved productivity/reduced admin 51.9%
Improved productivity/reduced admin
Image – appearing big, when small
Image – appearing big, when small 31.5%
Reduced costs
Reduced costs 41.3%
8% What is the one thing you’d like to see in your area that
38%
would help you and your home business?
Response
Answer Options
43%
Percent
12%
Dedicated live/work developments 8.1%

Events & networks for home business owners 42.5%
Dedicated live/work developments
Events & networks for home business owners A unit that offers hotdesking & professional 11.8%
A unit that offers hotdesking & professional meeting space
Faster broadband/more wi-fi hotpots meeting space
Faster broadband/more wi-fi hotpots 37.6%
What do you consider the key barriers to growing a

business in 2010?
Response
15%
18% Answer Options
Percent
20% 9% Rising costs 30.5%
11%
Lack of available support 14.6%
6%
2%
18% Legislation and red tape 18.0%
Finance, tax and VAT 30.0%
Rising costs Lack of ICT skills 3.9%
Lack of available support
Legislation and red tape Not understanding the requirements of a growing 10.3%
Finance, tax and VAT
Lack of ICT skills business
Finding the time to plan for expansion 33.0%
Not understanding the requirements of a growing business
Finding the time to plan for expansion
No major barriers No major barriers 25.3%
November 2009
Appendix II: Bibliography

The 2009 Business Pulse survey
http://www.smallbusinessweek2009.co.uk/businesspulse
BT TradeSpace 5 to 9 poll, October 2009

www.bttradespace.com
Can Homeworking Save the Planet, The Smith Institute and Live Work Network
November 2008
http://www.smith-institute.org.uk/publications/can_homeworking_save_the_planet.
htm
Characteristics of Home Based Business, Professor Colin Mason, July 2008

http://www.strath.ac.uk/media/departments/huntercentre/research/workingpapers/
media_144423_en.pdf
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Statistics for the UK and Regions 2008, The
Department for Business Innovation and Skills , October 2009
http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf
eBay Online Business Index, Spring 2009

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/businesscentre/OBI_Spring2009.pdf
Enterprise Nation: various

http://www.enterprisenation.com
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2008

http://www.gemconsortium.org/document.aspx?id=898
Home Business Manifesto

http://www.homebusinessprogress.com
Home Business Spotlight, South East Business Monitor, August 2009

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/SouthEast_files/HotTopic809.pdf
Home-Based Business: the Cinderella of the Enterprise Economy?

Presentation delivered to ISBE Conference, November 2009
Professor Colin Mason, Tim Dwelly, Emma Jones
Horsham District Council research into home business, various

http://www.horsham.gov.uk/your_area/your_area_6173.asp
InfoUK Top 100 Home Business Hotspot Ranking
OFCOM and Samknows.com broadband survey, January 2009

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/pm/PM_Ofcom_Jan09.pdf
PayPal research into e-commerce, June 2009

https://www.paypal-press.co.uk/Content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=170&NewsAreaID=2
Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time

Research conducted by Enterprise Nation and sponsored by Staples
http://www.enterprisenation.com/Resources/p/w/8/Working%205%20to%209.pdf
Redbrick Enterprises
Redbrick House • 9 Town Walls • Shrewsbury • SY1 1TW
T: 01743 272555
M: 0789 9871698
E: emma@enterprisenation.com

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Introduction from Emma Jones

Introduction from John Anderson

“It’s an inspiration to see so many people boldly responding to the recession by

Bill Murphy Managing Director BT Business

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2007/08

Prof Colin Mason, University of Strathclyde

Doug Richard, CEO, School for Startups

Home business owner, Somerset

Report partners Working with partners and organisations Report Contributors

For more information, visit

Five Key Themes

Enabling Home Enterprise: A call for action 35

Profiled home businesses

• Home businesses are growing by outsourcing and subcontracting work, as opposed

• The Top 100 Home Business Hotspots ranking is based on an analysis of

Now is a great time to start

Technology means trade

Freedom & control

Growth through outsourcing

The figure of 45% saying they will grow through using

Will this planned growth require you to take on new employees?

Functions such as:

This move is presenting service providers with clear opportunities.

As explained by Professor Colin Mason:

Bodie and Fou

“Elodie and I launched www.bodieandfou.com in May 2005, two weeks before I

The Fine Cotton Company

It’s the best way to start

Factors pointing to this trend include:

Another Gorgeous Day

An example from the arts/craft sector:

• Upload products to platforms such as Etsy and My Ehive.com

The mainstay of Lorraine’s operation is her BlackBerry which is switched on 24/7

“When an overseas customer invited us to meet up in the Far East to discuss

“I have used the HMRC website http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/ when I needed

By creating a cost-effective online presence Mark has attracted an international

“Running a home based businesses is seen as providing a flexible form of economic

“There is a good reason to look at cross-generational links as research shows that

“I really also ought to mention my in-laws. My father-in-law, Phil, is a graphic

Your People Count and Panda Loves Kitsch

This homeworking family of three meet up at lunchtimes but prefer to go outside

What a great way to work and see your family!

• Dedicated live/work developments 8%

Gower Cottage Brownies

This home based entrepreneur is now concentrating on increasing wholesale orders

The Top 100

30 Norwich East of England

71 Aylesbury South East

• South East (16)

*London Central is made up of Camden, City, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea,

Enabling Home Enterprise:

• Encourage more people to start a business from home

Encourage more people to start a business from home

Example case study:

Example case study:

Recognise and reward

Example case study:

Example case study: