Call for Government to Support Start up Enterprises

2009-12-18T17:43:00.001Z

Media Release

28^th October 2009

The leading provider of online offices is calling on the government to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November 2009) by announcing substantive help to start up and micro businesses. WinWeb.com CEO Stefan Töpfer makes the point that it is futile for government to finance campaigns to encourage people to start businesses when a massive 60% fail in their first five years, a figure that may well be worse in a recession. Töpfer argues that this attrition rate could be substantially reduced by some basic measures to support start-up businesses.

Töpfer says, "WinWeb.com supplies hundreds of thousands of small entrepreneurs so we are well aware of the problems they face, such as poor access to finance, deteriorating payment performance from larger customers and limited access to good quality business advice. The government has pumped billions into failing banks, millions into support for big industry and needs to take firm action to support the thousands of small firms that have been equally hard hit by the recession."

WinWeb .com is suggesting three key areas in which government measures could make an immediate impact:

- first three years tax and business rate relief,

- establishment of national incubation/co-working centres with permanent business advice available,

- free pre-startup-advice coupon redeemable by a qualified accountant (ACCA) worth £ 250

WinWeb.com points out that there are 3.9 million firms of under 10 employees, making up 84% of the total number of UK businesses, many of these businesses work from home and in rural and inner city areas of social deprivation so are crucial to the well being of key parts of the economy.

Töpfer continues, "The Chancellor will most likely be making his Autumn pre-budget report around the same period as Global Entrepreneurship Week. It is important that he gives real support to those he is encouraging into business. It would be cruel to encourage people who have lost their jobs in the recession to invest their redundancy pay into starting a business and then to give them no support in getting that business to generate the cash they need."

/Ends

Notes to Editors

Stefan Töpfer is available to comment on the needs of small business during Enterprise Week and at the time of the Pre-Budget Report. In particular he can speak on the policy suggestions he is making.

Stefan's policy prescriptions rest on a conviction that the right support in the initial stages of a business secures its long term future. Giving the business early relief from taxes and ensuring it has the right business advice to enable the entrepreneur to master cash control will significantly improve business survival rates. Short term stays in low cost incubation centres will start these businesses in the right direction.

Stefan's credentials and media profile can be found at http://tinyurl.com/winwebprofile
which also includes information on WinWeb.com. If you are unable to access this link please contact the media link below for a copy.

Media Contact: Louise Third, Integra Communications Ltd

0115 912 4350

louise@integracommunications.co.uk

16:32 on Friday 1st August

2008-08-01T17:34:00.001+01:00

I'm a writer – and an enterprising writer at that – but there comes a moment when writers' block gets the better of me. 16:32 on Friday 1^st August is just such a moment. Thoughts of packing up, switching off and repairing for a cool glass of something steal in to rob my tired brain of further words.

I guess I'm suffering the fatigue identified in recent research by Boots which describes how employers lose up to 151 minutes per worker each day due to tiredness. Apparently it can take up to 45 minutes to get going on arrival at the office and the post-lunch graveyard period loses a further hour of productivity.

The root causes, it would seem, are the long-hours culture combined with low levels of exercise and quick caffeine fixes. Sums-up my day nicely.

So I was delighted to read about 'Slow Sunday' – if you missed out it was last Sunday 27^th July - designed to challenge the very way we live. http://www.resurgence.org/trust/slow-sunday.html. Resurgence magazine, edited by Satish Kumar, is to nominate regular Slow Sundays when we will take part in simple actions that symbolise a rejection of commercialism, a passion for the planet and a desire for change.

Knowing that my mortgage depends on a nod in the direction of commercialism, I'm relieved we confine such laudable notions to Sundays. Mr. T, fellow Director, would not approve of 'Slow Mondays-to-Sundays' – and our clients might vote with their feet too.

So, with permission to Go-Slow in 48 hours' time, what will I do? Read the papers (busman's holiday)? Play tennis (certainly slower at my age)? Watch the Test Match (too slow – and depressing)?

Suddenly the cool glass of something looks very tempting.

Enterprising Public Relations

Call for Government to Support Start up Enterprises

16:32 on Friday 1st August