Barriers to start‐up and their effect on aspirant entrepreneurs

The importance of new business start‐ups cannot be over‐emphasised. The UK government has taken actions designed to stimulate the growth of new businesses and aid their survival. The identification of barriers to entry is important, together with strategies to minimise their impact. The UK continues to lag behind the USA in its levels of entrepreneurship. The removal of barriers to start‐up is key to rectifying this situation and stimulating the new business aspect of the economy. The paper highlights the government's position in furthering entrepreneurship, draws on initial primary research into student barriers to start‐up and makes recommendations for how higher education institutions can assist in breaking down the barriers identified.