Why I’m a small business owner

We used to be called a ‘nation of shopkeepers’, but today we’re more like a ’nation of SMBs’ with around 5.5 million small businesses in Britain.

But what’s the motivation for starting a small business; what’s the reason so many of us are ditching ‘9 ’til 5’ for ‘9 ’til-whenever-we’re-done’?

The small business owners we’ve been speaking with say they’ve never been happier, like Sam Scott, who says running ‘Sam Loves Copy’ helped her “find a job on my own terms” – and Alicia Lai, who told us starting vegan fashion brand ‘Bourgeois Boheme’ has given her “the freedom to work for a company I believe in, that’s based on my ethics’.

No one says it’s an easy ride though. It’s like Liz Wilson, founder of Ma Baker says: “I find myself working harder and longer hours than I ever have before, but I absolutely love what I do.”

So why become a small business owner? Hear from Sam, Alicia, Liz and more in our video above, and feel free to share your motives with us for starting up a small business, by emailing bloguk@dropbox.com.

Dropbox is proud to be an official supporter of Small Business Saturday – join the conversation at #SmallBizSatUK.