UK entrepreneurs refuse to mix business with pleasure

11th July 2007

SME bosses shun pub and golf club to do business and don't use the Internet for professional networking...

Traditional breeding grounds for doing deals and making new business contacts like the pub, golf club or social club have fallen foul of the work ethic and professionalism held by today’s entrepreneurs, according to a new survey* by Barclays Local Business. However, despite shunning an informal, social background to do business, the internet is also failing to prove itself as a meaningful way to meet new customers and suppliers.

Despite the recent growth of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, which experienced 89 per cent growth last year, there seems to be a lack of good sites for businesses to network. Only 8 per cent of those surveyed used the internet to network.

Research conducted at the latest Barclays Local Business 'Let's Talk' seminar to help people grow their business found that the majority of SME owner managers still go for the personal touch, with 61 per cent citing organised shows and networking events as their preferred way to build up useful contacts for their business. The popular scene of a Del Boy-like figure having a network of potential ‘punters’ and business contacts in his local ‘boozer’, or the more affluent business person conducting business on the golf course is a thing of the past. Only in Scotland does there seem to remain a propensity to mix business with pleasure, as bosses north of the border are three times more likely to network at the bar (13 percent) than the rest of England and Wales.

John Davis, marketing director for Barclays Local Business said: “The entrepreneurial spirit is at an all time high in the UK thanks to the profile of successful self-made celebrity millionaires like Sir Alan Sugar and the BBC’s ‘Dragons’ and over 100,000 new businesses are formed every quarter across the UK. But the new world of the Internet is still to catch on, especially for networking, as entrepreneurs would rather go to a formal networking event rather than make contact with people online where only 9 percent do any networking.

“Perhaps it is down to the fact that many small businesses are sole traders and organised events allow you to meet others, and discuss issues face to face, something a chat room will never be able to do. At Barclays, we believe that it's vital that businesses are encouraged to get together and are given the kind of forums or advice, whether in person or online, where they can spend their time most productively."

The survey also explored the top business contacts which entrepreneurs see as essential to the smooth running of their business. For owner-managers in England and Wales, the five most valuable contact numbers to have 'to hand' at any one time are a spouse or partner (62 per cent), business partner (45 per cent), accountant (32 per cent), parent (28 per cent) and bank manager (25 per cent).

Overall, businesswomen lead the way in recognising the value of networking with 93 per cent stating that it is important compared with 86 per cent of men.

*This survey was conducted amongst 520 local businessmen and women in England and Wales and 76 in Scotland. This is part of a nationwide programme of practical and FREE seminars to help people start in business and then go on to grow them. In 2006, around 600 events took place, supporting over 10,000 individuals

**2005 SME Statistics published by DTI on 20 December 2006

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