It's not all doom and gloom in the UK

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It's not all doom and gloom in the UK

Being a financial reporter in today's climate is not an easy task. Yet the facts are that if you look slightly below the surface, and as far away from the banking world as possible, you will see that there actually many companies who are weathering the financial storm and even some who are thriving.

"When the going gets tough the tough going " is a famous quote, reputedly made by Joseph Kennedy, father of JFK, the American President. And he should have known, because he made his fortune during the last great depression of the nineteen thirties.

It would appear that the entrepreneurial spirit that has typified UK business has not been dampened by the current difficult times, and that many aspiring Kennedys are looking at ways to carve out a niche for themselves in the world of commerce during these erratic times.

Possibly frustrated by the mess caused by those who were supposed to be taking care of business, almost 25% of the UK population have expressed an interest in establishing a business of their own, a recent survey has shown. Even more interesting is the fact that nearly 40% of adulst under that age of 34 feel that they are more capable of marketing their own talents as a self employed person or small business owner rather than be an employee.

The niches these people are looking at, as you would imagine, are the internet, while around ten percent of them stated an interest in the catering industry, in one of its many formats.

Geographically, London and the South seems to be the natural breeding ground for young entrepreneurs, and the further North you go, the desire to go it alone seems to dwindle.

The reasons appear to be that in London the desire and the need to earn money appears to outweigh the necessity to work longer hours and overcome the stress and the challenges of being self employed. In the North, possibly due to a lack of opportunities as well as a substantially lower cost of living, adults of all ages appear to prefer to take their chances in the job market.

As the dust begins to settle on the current financial crisis, and every UK citizen has to come to terms as to who it will affect them, possibly we will see in the coming weeks and months a surge of new and talented entrepreneurs who have found themselves in a situation that they possibly didn't want to happen, but when faced with the challenge of providing an income for themselves and their family have taken up the challenge with both hands.