Scotland’s entrepreneurial spirit has always shone brightly and we have, for a long time, been a hotspot for creativity and innovation in business.
As I touched on in this very column in 2020, the difficulties of the pandemic brought our can-do attitude to the fore and by September of that year, over quarter of a million people in Scotland were setting up or running new businesses, despite the challenges at the time.
The stats were even more impressive as the figures were the highest rate out of the home nations – an achievement not to be scoffed at.
It was disappointing to see then that the latest report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for Scotland, which captures rates of entrepreneurship in the general adult population, revealed that there are now significant gaps in the confidence Scots have in their entrepreneurial abilities.
The report captured the views of more than 1,500 Scots and showed that around four in 10 adults not presently engaged in business activity in Scotland can see good opportunities to start businesses in the next six months, but more than half said that the fear of failure would stop them.
This fear of failure, along with only around 16 per cent of non-entrepreneurial adults in Scotland expected to set up a start-up over the next three years, means that the number of Scots starting a business is now lagging behind the rest of the UK, post-pandemic.
It makes stark reading when only about 10 per cent of both early-stage entrepreneurs and established business owners in Scotland are expected to create more than 10 jobs and grow employment by more than 50 per cent in the next five years – both below the UK average.
Where does this unfortunate lack of confidence come from? Why has Scotland suddenly taken a step backwards, while the other home nations have bounced back from low numbers of early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 2020 to achieving significant growth?
Dr Sreevas Sahasranamam, who led on the survey and is a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde believes that “there is a need for an increased focus on entrepreneurship education in schools, further and higher education, in our communities, and among practicing entrepreneurs,” and I whole heartedly agree.
As a successful entrepreneur, I believe in passing on the knowledge and skill set I’ve built over the years. I’ve enjoyed inspiring future generations of entrepreneurs through ambassadorial and mentoring roles I’ve held at Strathclyde University, along with numerous other opportunities and this very column to shine a light on entrepreneurship here in Scotland.
Through these opportunities, I have been able to help people, both young and old, turn their ideas into lucrative companies and we need more successful businesspeople to step forward and provide fresh insight to stamp out this fear of failure, which seems to be creeping into our psyche.
We must nurture the talent we have here in Scotland and help those who believe that they have the next great idea, so that they also have what it takes to make it a success and help make a positive impact on our economy.
There are some great Scottish organisations out there, such as the Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation, who are doing an excellent job helping our young people develop their skills and talent.
Just last week the foundation launched a new crowdfunding initiative, looking to raise £75,000 to support the growth of the foundation’s upcoming 2023 Saltire Scholar Internship Programme, which matches undergraduate students with companies across the globe for summer internships.
The crowdfunding initiative was launched to ensure as many opportunities as possible can be offered to young people, amid economic challenges, rising rent prices and implications of Covid – which have impacted the programme in the last year.
The aim of the campaign is to identify the country’s untapped talent and create a new generation of Scottish business leaders, ultimately providing an opportunity to boost the future Scottish economy.
Supporting such initiatives is a must. With entrepreneurship showing signs of slowing down here in Scotland, we need to do all we can to harness and cultivate entrepreneurship for the future.
Scottish football’s £150m TV deal breaks cover
The final whistle was blown on negotiations last week as the Scottish Premiership approved a proposed five-year broadcast deal worth £150m for clubs and the league, coming into play in 2024 and running up to 2029.
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) notified clubs that a deal had been made and they were now able to negotiate the final details with the broadcaster.
The deal with Sky comes with an agreed 60 (up from 48) league games per season, which many fans will welcome, as in years gone by a number of teams outwith the perceived top four have barely got the chance on TV.
Despite the deal offering £30m a year to Scottish clubs, some teams were unsure on the deal, with Rangers’ Stewart Robinson claiming it undervalued the league and Livingston FC were said to have “reservations.”
However, for those rare neutrals on the sidelines, the deal seems robust enough for Scotland’s standing within the game.
For comparison, the Netherlands received £72m this year for its league’s TV deal, over twice the proposed £30m a year that the SPFL have been offered. The difference being that the Dutch league shows 312 of their league games, compared to the proposed 60 in Scotland.
It is not a lack of capacity to show more games however, but a deliberate set limit applied. Having many more of the games on TV, would, as Aberdeen FC chairman Dave Cormack puts it “…cannibalise season ticket sales, gate income, hospitality and retail sales, never mind dramatically impacting on the atmosphere at our games.”
The nuances of the Scottish game and broadcasting gets more complicated the more you think about it. Notably though, all lower-league clubs in Scotland support the deal which is always a sign that you’re on the right lines.
It Made Me Laugh
The art of communication is the language of leadership. Professional, mannerly, and clear are the rules we adhere to from a young age, but someone is always ready to break them.
Lewis Capaldi, Scotland’s mouthpiece, made a hash of things on BBC breakfast as he tried to informalise the conversation to show off his casual persona.
The explicit mix-up up that followed had him immediately apologise, but that didn’t stop it going viral soon after. And his fans loved him for it. So, perhaps the clichés around effective communication leaves out one characteristic that changes the whole dynamic – a sense of humour.
I’ve talked many times before about our people’s eye for innovation, but perhaps I should point out how important our funny bone is to our business success as well.
It Made Me Weep
The Scottish hospitality sector recently cried for help when Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, gave a stark warning that the sector was in crisis, going on to note that the problem was particularly “acute” in Scotland and warned that the country’s hospitality might “go dark” this winter, with closures already on the rise.
They looked to the Chancellor’s mini budget for support, but little has arrived. The freeze on alcohol duty was welcomed, but the industry, which was hopeful on lower VAT and business rates relief, were let down once again.
With a government unwilling to support the sector and a spiraling cost-of-living crises forecasting lower consumer spend, there is no hiding place within hospitality from the hardship to come.
It seems the industry can’t catch a break, and the government are unwilling to provide it.
