More than half of the UK’s small business were founded after Lockdown, a year which was to see the start of profound changes in the business landscape.
Such changes saw female and youth entrepreneurship grow rapidly and a boom in growth in regional cities including Stoke, Bristol, Brighton, Manchester and Glasgow.
These findings come from GoDaddy’s Venture Forward data, a research initiative carried out over several years which analyses over 680,000 British small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
Researchers found the pandemic has fostered a more diverse entrepreneurial landscape.
At the time of the first lockdown in March 2020, 52 per cent of businesses were founded by men compared to 46 per cent by women. The balance has since shifted, with female-founded ventures now accounting for 49 per cent of the total against 48 per cent male.
Our start-ups are also getting younger, with youth entrepreneurship – among those aged under 34 – rising from 28 to 35 per cent.
And in line with the exodus from the capital shortly after the pandemic, regional hubs have emerged as challengers. Venture Forward measured the concentration of microbusinesses against local population sizes to give each a microbusiness density score.
In 2021, only one of the top 25 areas for microbusiness density was outside London. Today, that has risen to seven with St Albans, Stoke on Trent, Bristol, Hove, Manchester, Brighton, and Glasgow all appearing in the top 25.
The pandemic produced countless challenges, but also showed the depth and breadth of our resilience as a nation
As expected, E-commerce boomed during the pandemic and GoDaddy data found British businesses are increasingly dependent on their websites. Today, the majority (52%) earn their main source of income from digital channels, compared to 45 per cent during the pandemic.
Business challenges have evolved too, with entrepreneurs increasingly citing marketing online (20% vs 15% five years ago), finding skilled employees (14% vs 10%), and securing affordable spaces (26% vs 20%) as major obstacles.
Technological advances have also shifted the dial, with 28 per cent using artificial intelligence tools to support business operations. With AI streamlining operations and saving time, entrepreneurs can focus on their growth strategy. Business owners are now becoming more bullish on their prospects, with 61 per cent anticipating business growth compared to 50 per cent during the Pandemic.
Andrew Gradon, Head of GoDaddy UK, said: “The pandemic produced countless challenges, but also showed the depth and breadth of our resilience as a nation. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our nation’s small business community. Whilst undoubtedly a tough time for most people in the UK, we can see that lockdown also unlocked the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“Compared to March 2020, we now have a younger and more diverse entrepreneur economy, better representation across the UK, and new tools and technologies to help microbusinesses thrive.”
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Report authors: GoDaddy UK