Starting a business is good for you

Friday 07 March 2014

A new study suggests that entrepreneurship is not only good for the economy - it could also have a positive impact on society in general.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is an annual study of entrepreneurship in more than 70 economies representing 90% of global GDP. Now in its 15th year GEM analyses levels of entrepreneurship in different countries to see how government policy can enhance or restrict entrepreneurial activity and how that relates to economic growth.

The Chief Executive of Jersey Business, Andy Cook, says the results of this year’s survey are very interesting and underline their objectives.

“We know that entrepreneurial activity is tremendously beneficial to economic growth because it creates businesses, which in turn creates jobs and increases competition, but what these findings suggest is that it can also have a positive impact on our sense of well-being, which then filters out into the wider community,” he said.

For the first time in 2013 researchers also studied the levels of subjective well-being among the 197,000 respondents to consider how satisfied entrepreneurs feel, compared to people who are not starting or running their own business. Initial results show that entrepreneurs are happier than those people who do not own their own business and that this can have a positive impact on society.

Whilst female entrepreneurs are outnumbered by men, the report says women experience higher levels of well-being and greater satisfaction from their work-life balance.

“In Jersey we are experiencing a high level of entrepreneurial activity because government has created the right environment for that to happen. GEM calls on female entrepreneurs to encourage other women who are thinking of starting their own business to make the leap by acting as role models or mentors and at Jersey Business that is something we would wholeheartedly endorse and support,” said Mr Cook

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor was conceived 15 years ago by the London Business School and Babson College Massachusetts and has now grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of its kind.