Have you got "startup spirit"?

This article includes definitions of small businesses, medium-sized businesses and large businesses, and gives the percentage of the total UK business population that each of these groups make up. Some commonalities between small businesses are identified (discussed as “startup spirit”), as well as reasons why startup businesses fail or early-stage entrepreneurs are unable to continue with their ventures. Helpful tools, reading recommendations and free resources are provided to help mitigate these challenges, including the adoption of a growth mindset.

How to tell if you have it already and how to hold onto it, plus where you can get a top up!

For years now, journalists, politicians and presenters have talked about the crucial part small businesses and micro enterprises play in the UK’s economic future.

The UK private sector is mostly made up of non-employing businesses (sole traders or limited companies with a single director) and small employers. Large businesses (with more than 250 employees) make up just 0.1% of our business population. Medium-sized businesses (with 50 - 249 employees) represent 0.7% of the total. That leaves small businesses (with 1-49 employees) representing 99.2% of the economy. Those stats speak for themselves.

See the composition of the 2022 business population on Gov.UK

Being described as “the backbone of the British economy” can sometimes feel like a heavy responsibility for small businesses to carry, especially when support isn’t always easy to access. Running your own business takes graft, and we know how hard it can be to keep your business dreams alive when faced with an astronomical electricity bill or an unexpected rise in business rates.

Thousands of UK businesses have used Transmit Startups to secure the finance needed to bring their self-employment dreams to life, and thousands more are continuing to use our free resources and access to business mentors, allowing Team Transmit to keep on stoking your startup fires! And how do you stop that fire going out? By pouring on some Startup Spirit!

But “startup spirit” isn’t a trait that some lucky people are naturally blessed with and others are not. Whilst the characteristics described above are common among many entrepreneurs, there’s no evidence yet of an entrepreneurial “gene”, and we’re big believers that business skills can be learned at any age and at any stage in your career. 

Take a look at our success stories to find examples of people like you becoming their own boss.

Three ways to hold onto your Startup Spirit (or top it up!)

Professor Dweck explains that people who have a ‘growth mindset’ are more able to embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism and be inspired by others’ success, compared with people who have a ‘fixed mindset’. (People who have a fixed mindset have a fixed view of their own ability, and think they're unable to change it. They are much more likely to say “I can’t do it”, or “I give up” when they experience failure in business.)

Entrepreneurs who have a growth mindset don’t worry about whether or not they have a natural talent for business. They know that they’ll get better at running their business by putting in time and effort, and also by identifying flaws in their plan and learning how to put them right.

The process of becoming a successful business owner is seen as more important than the outcome, and with time and practice, they believe they can achieve their goals. Having supported more than 14,000 entrepreneurs through the Start Up Loans programme, we believe that you can too!

If your initial business idea works out - awesome, we’ll help you run with it. If it doesn’t go so well, you’ll still have learned a valuable lesson which you’ll continue to apply throughout your entrepreneurial journey, making better, more informed business decisions as a result.

If you love learning and are ready to gobble up some business training courses, visit Smarta.

You can use a Start Up Loan for almost anything your business needs to get started, grow or just to continue running through a tough financial period. 

Our Start Up Loans customers often use the money for things like:

• Securing a business premises

• Buying materials or stock

• Purchasing new equipment

• Investing in sales and marketing activities

Start Up Loans’ eligibility criteria changed recently, so that more businesses have the opportunity to access this particular form of finance.

You can borrow between £500 and £25,000, which can be “tranched” (taken in chunks) so that you only borrow what you need at the time you need it.

• First loans are available to applicants with a new or early-stage business trading for no more than 36 months

• Second loans are available to existing Start Up Loans borrowers with a business trading for no more than 60 months

3.Get help to stay organised

In any job there are days where the workload feels unmanageable, the To Do List feels impossible to priorItise, and there comes a point when you have to ask for help.

Those days are tricky enough when you’re working for someone else and are part of a team. But as a sole trader, who can you ask for help to break down your mammoth task list into something manageable?

Well… Team Transmit, for starters. Every Start Up Loan recipient is allocated a Business Mentor to support you. Read more about the ongoing support you’ll receive as a Start Up Loan customer.