Connectivity vital for UK entrepreneurs

Nearly one in three (73%) UK entrepreneurs said that their business would go bust without reliable broadband and mobile connectivity, according to BT Group’s customer-facing unit BT Business.

In the telco’s recent study of 2,000 UK adults, including 500 people who run their own business, almost half (44%) said they would like to start a business or “side hustle” in 2023, suggesting the importance of connectivity and the part it is to play for business success this year.

Chris Sims, managing director of small and medium enterprise at BT, even described connectivity as the “backbone of small and medium businesses up and down the UK” – its potential has most recently been explored to optimise fleet operations globally.

According to BT Business, the cost-of-living crisis has perhaps driven these entrepreneurs to take the plunge, with making extra cash the top motivator for those who have already started a business (28%).

Mobile phones have now overtaken laptops and desktops to be the top rated device for managing a business (59%), and the ‘digital entrepreneur’ – someone who uses social media, their own website and e-commerce platforms  – is more important than the brick-and-mortar locations for driving sales, according to the report.

Another motivator, adding to why connectivity is so important, is the flexibility to be able to work from anywhere in the world (22%) as a product of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In fact, connectivity, particularly the advancements in connectivity, can take credit for UK entrepreneurs ability to run their business in more rural areas of the country (69%).

Social media specifically is heading the entrepreneurial spirit with over three quarters of today’s business owners relying on social media platforms or an online presence to drive sales.

At a time when 5G is being plugged into more locations around the world, such as Africa, and in India, where the country is launching its first 5G networks, the reliance businesses will have on connectivity may be expected to grow.