Here are the first findings from OMD Insight’s study into Entrepreneurial Britain.
This week will see the UK make the most important decision for a generation. Do we ultimately want to be part of the EU and benefit from free trade and migration or leave and make our own trading agreements and gain back control of our borders.
Whatever your beliefs, this is a debate which is dividing the nation. And if the latest polls are anything to go by it will be a far closer battle than we ever thought it would be. The public will be heard on Thursday, but stuck in the middle are the thousands of businesses up and down the country whose future will be affected by our vote, one way or another.
Over the last few months, OMD Insight has conducted a major body of work looking into Entrepreneurial Britain. With this study coinciding with the EU Referendum, we couldn’t help but find what our entrepreneurs thought.
Views are divided and there currently is no clear consensus among entrepreneurs whether remain or leave will have a positive impact on their business. Some of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs have warned of the impact that a vote for Britain to leave the EU could have on their businesses, whilst others have highlighted the benefits a leave vote would have. Like the public, they are still in the dark on what will happen.
We asked 1,000 of our entrepreneurs to tell us whether a vote to leave would be GOOD or BAD for their business. 30% of the entrepreneurs we surveyed said that a leave vote would potentially aid their business vs. 37% who think it would help them.
A similar poll by TNS published in the Guardian found that 37% of SME’s favoured Brexit while 38% wanted to stay in the single market.
Our work highlights that there is a strong sense that entrepreneurs feel calm and collected about the referendum. But one thing that is apparent is that, like us, they have no BREXIT strategy in place.
Whether it’s stay or go, entrepreneurs are still unclear on how the outcome of the vote will affect them or how they are to handle it. Guess they can worry about that on Friday 24th June.
Stay tuned for further blog posts on our Entrepreneurial Britain research ahead of the big launch in July.
Source: OMD UK Entrepreneurial Britain Research, June 2016
