Factors influencing small business start‐ups

Sheds light on the process leading to new enterprise formation and identifies the impact of some selected demographic variables on business start‐ups. In contrast to traditional research methodologies, this study used a new and more comprehensive approach to survey entrepreneurial intention. It studied both those who actually set up a new business and those “nascent entrepreneurs” who abandoned their idea prior to trading. The findings of an empirical analysis of 93 such entrepreneurs are presented. Using multivariate techniques to analyse the data, the importance of three demographic variables ‐ gender, previous government employment and recent redundancy ‐ was identified as having potential negative influences on small business formation, and comparisons are made with past studies.