More than a third of people want to start their own business so that they can earn money for themselves and not for their parent company, according to new research.

The findings show that a further 33 per cent would start up because they want to choose their own working hours. Meanwhile, the ‘pride factor’ associated with starting your own business was given as a reason by 25 per cent of people.

But the research also revealed barriers to starting up. Cited by a quarter of respondents was fear that their target market wouldn’t be strong enough to sustain demand.