Despite these misgivings in regards to personnel we do applaud the idea behind OTS. Being in the field of company formations we deal first hand with both small business owners and those interested in starting a business. A major concern for these people is less to do with their business model but more to do with the complicated steps required to keep their company above board.

In these difficult economic times we must encourage growth, not stunt it by, please forgive the cliché, turning molehills into mountains. At Companies Made Simple we receive numerous calls from people concerned about what they’re getting themselves into in by setting up a company. Of course a level of caution is healthy, as long as cautiousness does not evolve into fearfulness.

At The Made Simple Group we feel that we’re doing our bit for small and start up businesses by making all our business services and processes as simple as possible. It’s good to see the government finally following suit. Let’s just hope the activity proposed by The Office of Tax Simplification is the start of a promising period for small businesses and not just a gimmick rushed in by a government eager to impress.

Well, the Emergency Budget made some concessions to support small businesses, including a reduction in Corporation Tax, but many small business owners felt that it didn’t go far enough and the fact that it didn’t even address the fact that access to finance for most SMEs is severely restricted, was cause for much criticism.
However, it seems that Vince Cable and George Osborne, plan to change that. Yesterday, they released their discussions on the finance issue in a paper which claims to identify and define all other available routes to finance.

Well, according to a recent report conducted by magazine ‘Enterprise UK’, most small companies in the UK are still suffering from the effects of recession and many company formation owners fear that their businesses will never return to pre-recession profitability.

Adam Grange, founder and CEO of high street retail chain ‘Direct Homeware’ comments; “The last recession will go down in history as the toughest in terms of its impact on the high street. Not only did the recession have an impact on consumer confidence, it also changed consumer behaviour and stimulate the rise of ‘discount shopping’, so that now, not only does the high street have to compete with online retail, it also has to deal with aggressive price cutting.”
Editor of ‘Enterprise UK’, Richard Simmons, comments; “The fact is the SME sector is still dealing with long term effects of the recession. The decline in consumer spending and lack of available finance makes doing business in the UK at the moment extremely tough. The government needs to devise an action plan on how to move forward.”

A recent report conducted by independent business consultancy ‘M.K Consultancy’ found that over sixty per cent of company formation owners will be taking their laptop on holiday.

Thirty per cent say they will call their office everyday, twenty two per cent say they will work on an average of two hours a day on holiday, while an overwhelming seventy per cent say they have instructed staff to contact them if anything comes up which they feel is to important for them to deal with independently.
Mike Crowther, founder and managing director of M.K Crowther comments; “Forming a company and running a successful business takes a certain sort of person. Most company directors are extremely industrious, committed and completely dedicated to their business and since the economic downturn; they feel they cannot afford to leave their business, even to take a holiday.”

Once the ‘Emergency Budget’ was announced that majority of feedback from the company formation and SME sector was positive – the reductions in Corporation Tax and National Insurance concessions were especially welcomed. However, many company formation owners felt that the budget didn’t go far enough and that it was again a reflection on how the government fails to listen to business owners. But according to the Prime Minister, that is about to change.
The government has established a body tasked with finding out from business owners what would make enterprise in the UK better. Once the committee devises a collective strategy, a paper detailing their plans will be published.

Therefore, it may come as a shock that David Cameron’s coalition government is now planning to scrap Regional Development Agencies. These agencies will be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnership.

Local Enterprise Partnership will still be committed to improving businesses and enterprise in their area however they will also become involved in broader areas such as town planning and housing.
Henry White, Chairman of the Lytham St Annes RDA, comments ; “ The original ethos of the RDA – to support local business, company formation and enterprise at a local level – lives on through the Local Enterprise Partnership scheme. These plans are still in the early stages.”

Therefore, when the coalition was first came into power and the Emergency Budget first announced, it was expected to contain many provisions for making running a company much easier. However, apart from a minor reduction in Corporation Tax and some provisions to help small businesses and recent company formations deal with the cost of National Insurance, the budget failed to make and attempts at making the tax system less complex.
However, the Chancellor George Osborne pledged that his subsequent economic strategy was devised with the objective of putting an ‘Open for Business’ sign on the UK , and as he annouces plans to radically change the current tax system and devise a new ministry call the Office of Tax simplification , it seems he is staying to true to his word.

For now  . . .

The report suggests that for every 10,000 Londoners, 24 companies are formed, whilst the rest of the UK (apart from Milton Keynes with a promising 19) falls behind quite drastically. London being a hotbed of Start-Ups is certainly no shock but we are surprised by the low figures demonstrated by other parts of the UK.

Coastal towns in particular show some rather concerning figures with Swansea (-3), Sunderland (-1), Southend-on-sea (-1) and Blackpool (-1) all seeing more companies going under than new ones formed. This, no doubt, reflects the credit crunch’s impact upon areas reliant on tourism but could a perceived lack of opportunity also be to blame?

It’s often been assumed that to succeed in the UK you need to be based in London. Well we at The Made Simple Group believe this to be nonsense. Technology now allows unprecedented connectivity; geography has never been so inconsequential. Online businesses can be based anywhere. Crunch or no crunch, this is an exciting time to be involved in business.

And just by looking at the amount of companies that we’ve formed suggest many people are seeing redundancy and difficult times as an opportunity to get entrepreneurial and create a company – being positive and proactive about their future, endeavouring to take steps to be in control of their destiny, rather than be anxious about what the future may hold.

So we urge anyone who’s thinking about setting up their own company to take the plunge and go for it. It really has never been easier what with company formation agents (such as ourselves!) offering packages from £16.99 and a speedy turnaround that can see the company formed in just 3 hours.

However, according to a recent report conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, since the economic downturn many company formation owners have made radical changes to their management style.

The results of the report revealed that an overwhelming fifty eight per of company formation owners , felt that throughout the recession , they needed to take the role of team member rather than dictatorial leader , in order to support and motivate their employees in the context of pay freezes and salary cuts.

Oscar Johnston, owner of retail chain ‘SOS’, comments; “The challenges the recession presented to the SME sector have been well documented. However, the challenges it posed to employees have been largely un-documented. Employees have had to deal with the threat of redundancy, pay freezes and in some instances pay cuts, consequently employers have had to become more like team members than bosses.”

While the above report may have caused massive concern to most parents, they may be cheered up by more recent news that young adults aged between 16-20 now look up to entrepreneurs such as Lord Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson.

The survey, conducted by social networking site Bebo, found that over forty per cent of respondents aspired to become an entrepreneur.

Georgina Booth, spokesperson for social enterprise ‘Teach Your Children’ comments; “The findings of this report are much more positive than the previous one. It also reflects an emerging trend towards entrepreneurialism, which we have noticed among the young people we work with.”