Inflation is stopping 31 per cent of workers from starting a business right now.
The research of 2,000 workers, from Oracle NetSuite, also shows that 23 per cent are delaying due to a possible recession.
These factors are affecting small businesses across the board. Most (88 per cent) business leaders are concerned about inflation. Other worries include the possibility of a recession as well as geopolitical events and supply chain disruption.
To deal with these pressures, business owners have shifted their priorities for 2022, such as focusing on profitability (45 per cent), increasing revenue (41 per cent) and managing costs (30 per cent).
Of those that have launched, 79 per cent said that starting a small business was more challenging than they’d first imagined.
In order to be successful, business owners have had to upskill, with the three most useful business skills learned being customer relations (56 per cent), marketing and communications (49 per cent) and financial and accounting practices (45 per cent).
A lot of UK workers (25 per cent) believe that their side hustle is the first step to creating their business. Over a third (35 per cent) already have one and 47 per cent are considering pursuing one.
Almost one in five workers plan to start their business in 2022, with millennials most likely to want to start their own business. With a slightly longer view, 62 per cent want to start within the next two years. The main reasons respondents gave for wanting to start their own business was that they want to be their own boss (54 per cent), gain control over their lives (44 per cent) and become wealthier (35 per cent).
>See also: 6 best small business ideas for 2022
Technology plays a crucial part in modern businesses, with 64 per cent of business founders saying that technology is essential for running their business while 98 per cent of future founders believe technology will play a key role in the success of their business.