JUST OVER HALF of participants surveyed after a start-your-own-business course in Dublin started their own companies between 2008 and 2010 – and the majority of those are still trading.

The survey of attendees at the course which was run by the Fingal County Enterprise Board was carried out in January. (Note: Just over 40 per cent of those who had attended the course took part in the survey – that is 197 out of 483 graduates of the 2008, 2009 and 2010 courses – so the figures apply to that number).

Of those who responded to the survey, 50 per cent had either started a business before the SYOB course (17 per cent) or established one during the course (33 per cent). Another 30 per cent of people said that they intended starting one within 12 months of finishing the course. Only 19  per cent of those surveyed said they did not intend starting a business in the next year.

The survey found that of the 99 people who had started a business before, during or since the course, 57 had a full-time involvement in their own business, 35 worked in it on a part-time basis. Only 7 people had ceased trading, but this was an increase from the number who said they had ceased trading in a 2008 survey (from 1.3 per cent then to 7 per cent at end of 2010).

Oisin Geoghegan, head of the Fingal County Enterprise Board, said that the survey shows that dedicated support can create support, “but only if planned and delivered directly to those who need it, at a local level”. The Fingal board is one of 35 enterprise boards operating around the country.

Interestingly, the survey also reveals how the course opened the eyes of some of the participants to the fact that starting their own business was not an option for them. The top two reasons specified for not starting a business included “the realisation of work required” and “finance”, followed by “recession”, “found employment” and then, to a lesser extent, “time”, “planning issues/legislation” and “other”. Of those who responded “other”, pregnancy was the main reason.

Around 85 per cent of the businesses established by course participants were in the service industry – the rest was in manufacturing and product development. The report concludes that:

This breakdown is expected, given that most of the businesses are run from home and most of the participants in the SYOB course had intentions to start small businesses on their own.

The small scale of most of these businesses is relayed in the figures they give for projected turnover:

• 68 per cent project a turnover of under €50,000
• 20 per cent – €50,000 to €100,000
• 6.5 per cent – €100,000 to €250,000
• 3.3 per cent – €250,000 to €500,000
• 1 per cent – €500,000

On a bizarre note, the report admits that the “single declaration of €500+ relates to an individual who is involved in a pyramid sales style scheme”. It advises: “This declaration may not be entirely valid”.