Why start a business now?

There are a number of reasons why there is no time like the present to start a business. Companies that previously started during a recession include Microsoft (1975) and Apple (1976).

For a start, it is cheaper to start up a business than ever before. One of the biggest start up costs relates to rent, but commercial rents are in freefall and it is possible to negotiate significant discounts off list rent prices.

Similarly in recent years we have witnessed a significant growth in home based businesses where people start up at home before expanding into rented premises once their business concept has been proven (see Enterprise Nation).

In terms of staffing, redundancies have resulted in an increase in the numbers of talented people available at more realistic wage levels. An increase in flexible working practises ranging from contracting, to freelancing, to hotdesking to people working 4 days weeks all helps to keep start up costs down.

The current recession also means that startups are a lot more frugal than was the case a number of years ago. As this guide to bootstrapping illustrates this frugality does not necessarily compromise the chances of your start up succeeding.

Finally in terms of funding, many of the traditional asset classes investors typically favour i.e. property, stock, cash etc are under serious pressure to deliver returns. With low interest rates and a difficult trading environment many investors will be prepared to take a punt on a compelling business plan.