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Post Office reveals Generation X as face of UK entrepreneurs

A new study released today by the Post Office has revealed that the driver of UK enterprise is Generation X (45 – 54 year olds). This group is responsible for the most amount of start-ups with over a third (37 per cent) of those surveyed setting up their own business in the last year.

The study shows that Generation X entrepreneurs are turning to self-employment for the chance to work in a field they are genuinely interested in, with 30 per cent citing this as the reason for setting up their own business. While, just under a quarter (23 per cent) stated they switched from their previous roles as they thought there would be more money in running their own company.

Being your own boss does mean a more relaxed working environment, with over a quarter of respondents - 27 per cent – running their businesses from the living room.

Looking at the research more broadly, nearly half of men (46 per cent) who set up their own business did so in order to be their own boss. The primary reason for women was to have more flexibility and freedom with almost half (48 per cent) stating this as a motivation.

Interestingly, more women are multi-tasking than men, juggling two careers, with one in 10 (10 per cent) running a business alongside their ‘day job’. This compares with just four per cent of men. However, men are working the longest hours, with a quarter (25 per cent) of men working over 50 hours a week or potentially over 10 hours a day compared to 20 per cent of women.

The study was undertaken by the Post Office to ensure its services meet the changing needs of today’s small businesses in the UK. Not only are its branches open for longer to give SMEs more flexibility on when they visit branches, it also recently announced that it is to make its Local Collect ‘click and collect’ service with Royal Mail available to 20,000 SME customers. The service enables the UK’s small and medium sized online retailers to offer customers a collection service from any of 10,500 Post Office branches. Last year it launched Drop & Go a fast track pre-paid mail service, specifically designed to meet the needs of SMEs and etailers. So far over 60,000 customers have signed up to the service. The Post Office also recently announced that it is to trial over 150 new Drop Off points for online shoppers to return items using Royal Mail’s pre-paid returns services. Almost three quarters (71 per cent)¹ of Online shoppers say that the Post Office is their preferred method for returns so providing this route ensures that retailers offer the most convenient solution to their customers.

In addition to mail services the Post Office offers business insurance tailored to meet the needs of SMEs, and access to business bank accounts for customers of a number of high street banks at its branches and an international payments service for businesses moving into overseas markets.

Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer, said: “It’s exciting to see that it is the more seasoned Generation X professionals at the heart of UK SMEs, using their skills and experience to run their own business.

“Our branches are now open for longer, with around 2000 open on Sundays. Through new initiatives like Drop & Go and Local Collect, we’re delighted to lend our support to this country’s small business community and the third of SMEs which visit our branches each week.”

The Post Office, now independent of Royal Mail, is the largest retail network in the UK, with over 11,500 branches.

It serves around 17 million customers a week and this includes a third of all small businesses across the UK. 99.7 per cent of people are based within three miles of their nearest branch. For many rural communities, the Post Office is the only nearby retail outlet. Post Offices remain highly valued and trusted and are the focal point for many communities.

For more information, visit www.postoffice.co.uk

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