PM calls on entrepreneurs to 'get it done'
Prime Minister David Cameron has issued a rallying cry to Britain's budding entrepreneurs, as he told Insider: "This is the year we need to get it done."
And Herefordshire-based Re-jigged, an ethical children's clothes retailer, was held up by the government as an example of the kind of start-up business new proposals hope to create.
Speaking to Insider, the PM said enterprise was critical to the future of the nation as he unveiled a raft of new measures to support aspiring business leaders. He said: "There is a business in everyone."
At a launch event for the new "Business In You" campaign as part of Start Up Britain, Cameron revealed the government was planning to "throw open" its doors to entrepreneurs and pledged to give new businesses space in empty government buildings across the country.
The decision to utilise idle buildings was accompanied by an array of new support systems, including assistance in seeking funding, which will help people to start their own business and fuel a private-sector-led recovery.
Cameron said: "Winston Churchill famously said 'Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.'
"We need entrepreneurs creating wealth and jobs to help pull this country along. Big business is important and plays a role, but small businesses are more so. Those who are young, new or not born yet are the real engines of true job creation.
"We've made a start by cutting back anti-business bureaucracy and creating a number of initiatives to support and attract entrepreneurs, but it's not a case of job done. It's not enough to just exhort the need for enterprise, we need to provide practical help and encouragement.
"These measures we are unveiling today will be a real shot in the arm for enterprise in this country. Each of our nation's greatest success stories begins with the first step – this is the year that we have to go for it."
Carol Powell founded Re-jigged in Herefordshire village of Weobley in 2009 with help from a local council business grant.
The company was one of ten across the UK the Government singled out as examples to others thinking about starting their own businesses.
Powell said: "Unfortunately I didn't have a mentor, which I would have loved to have, but I did spend a lot of time on the internet sourcing different grants, trying to find out what was available, picking up the phone and not giving up.
"There wasn't a huge amount available at the time but what I did get was a local business start-up grant from Herefordshire Council. It enabled me to buy new sewing machine and equipment to the value of about £1,000."
The Prime Minister said the government was taking a number of steps to ensure new businesses could access finance and pledged to get money "flowing to business". He also revealed a new finance finder website was being launched which would tell businesses where they can access the finance they need.
Despite facing criticism over the government's stance on banks and taxes, Cameron argued: "We need to help people grow their businesses and you don't do that by adding taxes. The government is there to help and we will make banks lend money to businesses."
With regard to the fight to rebalance the national economy, the PM said it was important just to focus on the private sector and not the service industry versus manufacturing. He said: "A private-sector-led recovery is absolutely vital. Granted we want a rebalanced economy and that has meant we have had to make some difficult decisions.
"However, we can't be religious about which sector grows, we just have to make sure business is growing at this stage, regardless of whether it is from the service sector or from the manufacturing industry.
"Having said that, I believe manufacturing has a real opportunity to grow with the current exchange rates and low interest rates making for a competitive year ahead."
