Hiring is top of the agenda for female entrepreneurs in 2015.
Almost two thirds of female small to medium size business owners and leaders in the UK say they have ambitious goals for their business in 2015, according to a recent survey on behalf of the Business is GREAT Britain campaign.
The survey of 1,000 businesswomen revealed that 14% of female-led businesses say hiring new staff is a key priority for 2015. With nearly a million women-led SMEs in the UK this could mean almost 140,000 new jobs being created next year.
Research shows that people are 42% more likely to achieve a goal just by writing it down and Business is GREAT Britain is encouraging all UK business women to publicly share their business aims and ambitions for 2015, in order to inspire others to develop their businesses over the coming year.
As part of the Business is GREAT campaign, the Government is highlighting the organisations, networks and government sources of advice and resources that can help women develop their business. It will also showcase successful female business owners and leaders as a way of demonstrating what can be achieved.
Some of the UK’s top female SME business leaders shared their business goals for 2015 in support of the campaign:
Amelia Rope, owner of Amelia Rope Chocolate:
[quote]My main goals for 2015 are to continue to expand globally, add to my product range and take on an assistant.[/quote]
Anne Wilson, Managing Director of Numill:
[quote]I have a big push planned for 2015 to grow the business and strengthen our market position globally. It has been vital to train our own talent in our industry, and this continues to be a big focus for us in 2015[/quote]
Emma Mills, owner of Mi PA:
[quote]My ambition for the business in 2015 is to double turnover and train our team to be customer service experts.[/quote]
In order to help UK businesswomen achieve their ambitions for the coming year, the Government has created a Women in Enterprise hub which houses advice and information on everything from business mentoring schemes, to available funding and a guide to flexible working.
Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan said:
“We are helping more women than ever before to start or develop their own business. We know that there are more women with great entrepreneurial ideas that need support to make their ambitions a reality.
“It’s my goal for 2015 is to ensure a record number of female entrepreneurs are championed by Government and that they receive all the help they need to start or develop their businesses.”
Minister for Women and Equalities and Minister for Business, Jo Swinson said:
“Supporting women entrepreneurs is vital if we are to build both a stronger economy and a fairer society. There are more women-led businesses in the UK than ever before, and we know that if women were setting up and running new businesses at the same rate as men, our economy could benefit from 1 million more entrepreneurs.
“It’s my goal for 2015 to kickstart a culture change in workplaces where fathers feel more confident in taking time off for childcare, through the introduction of Shared Parental Leave. The new rules will give real choice to parents, allowing them to better juggle the demands of work with the arrival of a new baby.”
Many of the topics featured in the Women in Enterprise hub equate with the most popular business goals identified by the survey, which were:
1. Hire new employees
2. Train workforce
3. Hire an apprentice or trainee
4 .Develop your own people management skills
5. Implement flexible working
6. Apply for finance
7. Develop a new product or service
8. Seek tax relief
9. Start selling overseas
10. Acquire new office space
Share your goal and follow the hashtag #MyGREATgoal to join other ambitious women in business setting their agenda for 2015.