'Mumpreneurs' Vote for Cameron and Criticise Brown

LONDON, April 14/PRNewswire/ --

- notonthehighstreet.com's Small Business Survey Provides
First Comprehensive Insight Into This Thriving Small Business Sector

An unprecedented, in-depth, small business survey conducted by
notonthehighstreet.com, the on-line shopping website which supports over 700
of the UK's most innovative small businesses, puts Gordon Brown seriously
under the political spotlight and gives the most detailed insight into female
entrepreneurs and their concerns today. Among the revelations:

- David Cameron's Conservative Party is voted best for small
Businesses

- Gordon Brown is considered not to place a high value on small
businesses or the role they play in the UK economy

- The Government is heavily criticised for not encouraging women in
particular to set up businesses on their own

- Call for easily available start-up and early stage grants

- Richard Branson and Anita Roddick named most inspirational
entrepreneurs

- Gender makes no difference to becoming a successful entrepreneur

- Friends and family greatest source of small business advice

- Money worries are the most stressful and challenging aspect of
running a small business

- Lack of finance, time and e-commerce knowledge greatest obstacles
to selling products

- Internet boom drives small businesses but their lack of
e-marketing knowledge is exposed

Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, founders of notonthehighstreet.com, who
conducted the survey to co-incide with the company's second anniversary this
month, said: "Notonthehighstreet.com's research, the first of its kind, has
identified and defined the new breed of 'Mumpreneurs' in Britain, a third of
whom say that the internet has totally affected their business and that they
would never have gone into business without it. This is a vibrant, creative
group who are confident, determined and successful but as yet unheard.
Seventy two per cent of those surveyed told us that they believe
notonthehighstreet.com has an important role to play in representing them to
Government and the media, so we are starting today by expressing their
collective views and concerns."

Among the major findings of the notonthehiighstreet.com survey:

1. POLITICS

David Cameron's Conservative Party is considered best for small business
and Tony Blair's Labour Party better than Gordon Brown's

When asked which Government of the most recent possibilities do they
believe is/was/would be best for small business, notonthehighstreet.com's
survey revealed

David Cameron's Conservative Party 41.1 %

Tony Blair's Labour Party 25.5 %

Gordon Brown's Labour Party 19.0 %

Nick Glegg's Liberal Democrats Party 14.4 %

Less than six per cent say Gordon Brown places a high value on the role
of small businesses in the UK economy

High value 5.7 %

Low value 53.6 %

Medium value 40.7 %

Very few say Gordon Brown has high understanding of small businesses

When asked to rate Gordon's Brown's understanding of small businesses,
the results were

High 4.6 %

Average 48.3 %

Low 36.9 %

None - he shows no understanding whatsoever 10.3 %

Government's position within the small business community rated badly

When asked how well they think the Government is positioned at the moment
within the small business community, only 1.5 per cent said they think the
Government is doing very well and are at the heart of it and feel well
supported by a Government who understands their needs. Other responses were:

"not well - despite well-publicised claims, I see no sign
of them making a positive difference to small businesses" 41.8 %

"getting better - lately have improved their efforts" 17.1 %

"badly - they are too removed from the realities of running
a small business to give any proper support" 16.0 %

"hopelessly - Government policies only make running my
business more difficult" 9.9 %

Government must do more to encourage women to set up on their own

84.7 per cent of those surveyed believe that the government does not
encourage women to set up on their own.

In addition, when asked in what ways is the Government supportive of
women in business the results were revealing:

No ways whatsoever 49.8 %

Tax breaks for working parents 19.2 %

Business advice 18.4 %

Training 14.2 %

Childcare 11.5 %

Financial backing 3.4 %

Gender does not make a difference to becoming a better entrepreneur

Interestingly, when asked if women make better entrepreneurs, a
resounding 83.5 per cent said that they don't think gender makes any
difference.

Call for easily available start-up and early stage grants

When asked if there was one thing the Government could do to support
small businesses the priorities were

Easily available start-up and early stage grants 31.6 %

Legal and accounting support at no or low cost 26.6 %

Better tax breaks 23.6 %

Automatic, easy access to qualified mentors and
impartial advice 11.4 %

Significantly reduced legislation 6.8 %

2. MOST INSPIRATIONAL UK BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN

Richard Branson and Anita Roddick are considered to be the most
inspirational UK entrepreneurs

Top six most inspirational UK businessmen

Richard Branson (Virgin) 40.7 %

Johnnie Boden (Boden) 19.4 %

Terence Conran (Conran) 17.8 %

Tim Smit (Eden Project) 16.6 %

James Dyson (Dyson) 10.7 %

Alan Sugar (Amstrad) 8.3 %

Top six most inspirational UK businesswomen

Anita Roddick (Body Shop) 52.6 %

Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish (notonthehighstreet.com) 30.0 %

Chrissie Rucker (White Company) 15.4 %

Anya Hindmarch (Anya Hindmarch) 7.9 %

Natalie Massenet (Net a Porter) 6.7 %

Stella McCartney (Stella McCartney) 5.9 %

3. FUNDING AND FINANCIAL CONCERNS

Over 80 per cent (81.9 per cent) have NEVER applied for a Government
grant When asked why this was the case they said:

They never thought of it or were not aware they might qualify 45.5 %

They were unable to find good advice on the subject 31.2 %

They had heard it was so difficult to get grants that they didn't
bother applying 24.1 %

The amounts available are too small to warrant the time it would
take to apply 12.8 %

They started applying, but it was so time consuming and
complicated they had to give up 12.1 %

Of the 18.1 per cent who have applied for a Government grant for their
business, 68.9 per cent were successful, but payments were not high; 37.2 per
cent received between GBP1,001 and GBP3,000, 25.6 per cent between GBP251 and
GBP1,000 and 23.3 per cent between GBP3,001 and GBP5,000. Despite this, 49
per cent of those who received a grant say that they would apply for one
again.

Personal savings are most popular funding method followed by family loans

Personal savings 62.3 %

Loans from family 31.3 %

Business Bank Loans 15.3 %

Personal Bank Loans 10.7 %

Worryingly, completely unprompted, several small businesses said they
relied on credit cards as their most popular funding method.

Almost half, 49.5 per cent, say their greatest financial concern is not
being able to draw a salary for longer than expected

Another concern was that the company would run out of money and go bust
25.6 per cent. Interestingly, 15.3 per cent say that they don't really have
any financial concerns.

4. ADVICE, SUPPORT AND GREATEST CHALLENGES

Friends and family are greatest source of small business advice

When asked where they go for small business advice respondents said

Friends and family 56.9 %

Business Link 40.6 %

Networking and business support organisations 35.2 %

I go on instinct 15.3 %

Banks 10.0 %

When it comes to training, 49.5 per cent said they had no relevant
training or degree in order to start their business.

Money worries are the most stressful and challenging aspect of running a
small business while winning and keeping the support of spouse/partner is the
least stressful

Almost one third, 32.1 per cent, say money worries, whether for the
company or the family have been extremely stressful and challenging when
running their business. This is followed by:

Juggling all the different demands that starting
my own business has placed on me 23.0 %

Concerns about how children will cope if/when they
cannot give them the time they feel they need 18.8 %

Being unable to take any time off - let alone
a holiday 15.9 %

Practical childcare concerns 15.6 %

Tiredness and lack of sleep 12.0 %

Managing any fear of failure or lack of personal confidence 9.2 %

Maintaining relationships with friends 7.8 %

Winning and keeping the support of a spouse/partner 5.4 %

A large proportion of small businesses work with their family and friends
because they trust them but also for financial reasons

Of those surveyed, 54.6 per cent are family-run businesses. 17 per cent
run the business with their partner or spouse while 8.3 are friends who run
their business together.

Reasons sited for working with family or friends are

They can completely trust them 62.9 %

They enjoy working with them 62.9 %

Financial reasons as they cannot afford employees on the
open market 48.8 %

They can share the stress or pain if they need to 48.6 %

Lack of finance, time and e-commerce knowledge greatest obstacles to
selling products

When asked to site the greatest obstacle they face when selling their
products small businesses report:

Lack of finance to promote their business themselves
throughout the year 38.2 %

Lack of time to promoted their business themselves
throughout the year 37.7 %

Lack of e-commerce knowledge and their inability to
promote their website sufficiently to catch shoppers' attention 16.3 %

Lack of creativity, ideas and design knowledge 5.9 %

Lack of finance explains why small businesses marketing budgets are
extremely low

Annual marketing budget under GBP1,000 59.9%

Annual marketing budget of GBP1,001 0 GBP5,000 24.6 %

Internet boom drives small businesses but lack of e-marketing knowledge
exposed

While 33.1 per cent of small businesses say that the internet boom has
totally affected their business and that they would have never have gone into
business without it coupled with 27 per cent agreeing that the internet boom
has affected their business a great deal as it has transformed the way they
do business, small businesses knowledge of online marketing is extremely
limited by their own admission as they reveal:

No knowledge at all of banners, skyscrapers and buttons 37.1 %

No knowledge at all of affiliate marketing programmes 41 %

Knowledge of pay per click advertising is weak 29.3 %

Knowledge of search engine optimisation is weak 27.9 %

Excellent knowledge of e-mail customer communication 10.7%

5. MOTIVATIONS AND AMBITIONS

Almost three quarters of respondents, 74.9 per cent, were motivated to
set up their business as they wanted to work for themselves

Others reasons given were

They have an enterprising spirit 52.2 %

They wanted to do something much more creative 52.2 %

They wanted to work at home after having children 37.5 %

They spotted a gap in the market 33 %

They turned a hobby into a business 32.6 %

Didn't want to work for a large corporation 29.6 %

Wanted a career change 20.6 %

Confident, ambitious and running businesses with a conscience

When asked how confident they were about setting up their business
respondents replied

Reasonably confident that with luck and hard work I would succeed 47.8 %

Very confident as I knew I had hit on a great idea and had relevant
skills 17.9 %

Nervous at first but people reacted so positively I just had to do it
15.1 %

Extremely confident - I always succeed 3.4 %

When asked about their primary ambition for their business they said:

Grow significantly, increasing turnover and/or the size of the team 33.8%

To run a very small company that they can be proud of their own
Creativity and talent 20.9 %

To earn a moderate income with a small team 17.9 %

To become a famous brand and build a household name 13.3 %

Almost three quarters, 71.1 per cent, want to export overseas with only
28.9 per cent opting to remain a UK only company

A large proportion also run their businesses with a conscience. When
asked if they can claim any ethical, community or fair trade values for their
business or products responses were as follows:

Eco friendly 30.2 %

Recycled or reclaimed 29.6 %

Ethical 27.1 %

Fair Trade 15.5 %

Note to Editors:

Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, founders of notonthehighstreet.com, are
available for interview.

Facts about Notonthehighstreet.com's survey recipients

317 small businesses from across Britain took part in the survey, which
was conducted in March 2008 by notonthehighstreet.com with a representative
sample of businesses across the UK.

91.1 per cent of the businesses are run by women. 56.7 per cent have
children under the age of 18.

53.4 per cent are aged between 30 and 40, 29.1 per cent between 41 and 50
and 10.5 per cent between 18 and 29.

59.5 per cent operate their business in a dedicated home office or
workshop, 21.1 per cent at home around their kitchen table and 19.4 per cent
at an office away from home.

66.3 per cent are sole traders, 23 per cent limited companies and 9.3 per
cent partnerships.

25.1 per cent of respondents have been running their business between one
and two years, 20.3 per cent between two and three years, 15.5 per cent
between three and four years, 7.6 per cent between four and five years and
17.2 per cent over five years. 2.8 per cent are either in their pre-launch
phase or have been running for under 3 months.

36.8 per cent have a turnover of between GBP10,000 and GBP50,000. 16.8
per cent between GBP1,000 and GBP5,000, 15.8 per cent between GBP50,000 and
GBP250,000, 11.7 per cent under GBP1,000 and 4.1 per cent between GBP250,000
and GBP1 million.

Background on Notonthehighstreet.com

Launched in April 2006 by founders Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish,
Notonthehighstreet.com now brings over seven hundred independent small UK
businesses together to sell over 20,000 products through one checkout.
Thousands of products are available to buy from a choice of nine categories:
food& drink, home & garden, fashion, jewellery, health & beauty, weddings &
parties, gifts, baby & child, cards & wrap.

Notonthehighstreet.com has enjoyed rapid success. Six months after it
launched, it was named a top 50 e-boutique by The Independent. In 2007, it
became the London winner of the Grazia 02 awards, a London regional finalist
of HSBC's small business awards, and MSN's Best Shopping Website. Holly
Tucker and Sophie Cornish were also named by Marie Claire as two of 23 UK
businesswomen shaping the future of Britain.

Among the unique features of notonthehighstreet.com each small business
or designer represented has its own URL and 'homepage' so that shoppers can
read background information about them and their latest news and products.
Partners are in control of the products they put on the site and sell
directly to the shopper. In effect they have their own mini website under the
notonthehighstreet.com umbrella and avoid having to take care of their own
e-commerce and marketing as this is done for them.

Source: www.notonthehighstreet.com

Please contact Julie Turner, PR Director at notonthehighstreet.com, for further details at julieturner@notonthehighstreet.com or tel: +33-(0)6-25-28-72-82.

2008-04-13 19:03:24 0334265 PRNEWSWIRE