The Capital’s aesthetic appeal could be beckoning people to ditch their day jobs and take up photography as a business
People in Edinburgh are more driven to become their own boss and turn their hobby into a business, according to new findings from cloud-based developers at Wix.com.
Fifty-one per cent of survey respondents in Edinburgh said they would prefer to be their own boss and turn their hobby into a business – 7% higher than the national average of 44%
Thirty-eight per cent consider themselves to be better at their hobby than their current job – again, higher than the national average of 32%.
Twenty-five per cent said they are definitely going to turn their hobby into a business and start their own company.
The hobby which came out on top in the Capital was photography, with 29% citing this as their profession of choice – higher than the national average of 18%.
When asked what was holding them back, 26% of would-be entrepreneurs in Edinburgh said they didn’t know where to start and 23% thought it would cost too much to start.
Overall, Scotland had the highest number of respondents (24%) likely to turn cooking into an online business, while the national average was 18%.
Other key findings:
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Compared to the national average of 42%, Scots would opt for funding their own business with a bank (46%). Scots are also more likely to consider crowdfunding (15%) to raise funds for their venture compared to the national average of 12%.
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According to the survey, Edinburgh is the second city (26%) after London (27%) where people are most unhappy with their jobs (the national average is 21%).
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47% of Scots overall said they would prefer to be their own boss and turn their hobby into a business.
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Considering that over 38% of respondents consider that they are better at their hobby than their current job and 48.1% that they consider more important doing something you love, against 18.5% who said the most important thing is doing something that makes good money, the survey suggests that 2017 will see a significant number of people in Edinburgh – and Scotland in general – turning their favourite hobbies into a business.
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More than a quarter of Brits believe they could make up to £48,000 pounds a year if they were to turn their hobby into a business.
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During 2017, we are most likely to see Brits turning hobbies such as baking (18.5%), photography (18.3%), cooking (19.2%) and sports (16%) into online businesses, particularly individuals with the highest levels of education, graduates and post-graduates, and high earners (65-75k/year).
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Brits are still quite traditional in regards to their hobbies, with men being more likely to turn their sports (28%) and photography (21%) related hobbies into businesses, whilst 23% of women mention baking, 22.4% sewing & knitting and 19% cooking related businesses.
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Generation Y (25-34 year olds) came out as the most entrepreneurial one, with 50% of respondents saying that they have thought about turning their hobby into an online business, and one in ten stating they have already done so.
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This generation seems confident in the digital skills they need to set up their ventures. However, 35% of 25-34 year olds revealed that what worried them the most is not knowing where to start, while over 39% were mostly concerned about the costs of starting an online business.
David Schwartz, VP of e-commerce at Wix.com, said: “This data is in-line with what we observe on our platform. Quite often users come to us without knowing where to start, but they quickly realise how easy and affordable it is to create, manage and grow their business online. The UK e-commerce market is the strongest in Europe and the second largest in the world, and our most popular vertical, which clearly reveals the British entrepreneurial spirit.”
When questioned about the skills they considered essential to start a business, 70% of Brits pointed out finance, 57% marketing and 49% digital skills such as building a website, social media or SEO, with only 21.1% mentioning HR and recruitment skills, which curiously are often mentioned by entrepreneurs as one of their biggest hurdles.
Schwartz added: “What stands out from this data is the lack of confidence most British people have on the digital skills needed to set up an online business (20%). We are confident we can be part of the solution by offering everyone a set of tools that enable them to easily create a professional online presence.”
The survey also looked at how Brits would go about raising funds for their businesses, and 69.5% said they would use their own money rather than relying on bank loans (42%). Raising funds through family and friends also made up a large proportion, with 20% of respondents saying they would ask friends and family. Only a small percentage (3.5%) would consider approaching angels or VCs to raise funds.
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