A recent European Commission study points to some interesting conclusions of the main reasons that lead Portuguese people to become entrepreneurs in our country.
We do not lack will!
The economic and financial crisis we are going through does not seem to deter the Portuguese desire to create their own company. When asked about the preference between working on their own or on behalf of third parties, the answers point to a victory of entrepreneurs, with 49% of responses in this sense, against 47% of respondents who indicate that they prefer to evade to risk and work for others.
This figure is as interesting or even more interesting when compared to the European Union average, where only 33% of respondents indicate that they would like to be self-employed.
The numbers indicated, once again express the will, strength and desire that Portuguese people have for life, and if we hear that we have been accommodated for many years with the right job and for life in the past, the values of the present point to a willingness to set out on its own, and in the opening of new businesses.
This study also demonstrates that the Portuguese are aligned with the world’s largest economies, in the main desire to be an entrepreneur.
In the table below we can see a summary of the answers given between Portugal, United Kingdom and United States of America:
| Factors | Portugal | United Kingdom | USA |
| Personal Independence | 55% | 49% | 54% |
| Freedom of choice in the workplace | 23% | 39% | 33% |
| Possibility of higher yields | 16% | 7% | 9% |
| Explore a business opportunity | 6% | 2% | 2% |
We found that in all countries, freedom and independence are the biggest motivation that moves entrepreneurs. The biggest possibility of salary is the 3rd factor most indicated by the Portuguese to create their own company.
However, despite all the will existing at the heart of our entrepreneurs, 66% considers that it will not be feasible that in the next 5 years can start their own business.
The portuguese fado!
As this value seems to be an inexplicable paradox, when we evaluate the answers given, we find that the “crisis knocks”, and more than the lack of technical skills or the lack of opportunities, where we find the real differences in The response of the Portuguese towards other countries is the fear that the current situation is not the best for launching a company in the market.
When we compare these results with two of the most entrepreneurial economies in the world, we see that the paradigm is quite different, and that the current situation is not an obstacle to the creation of new companies.
The economies of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, indicate only 9% and 5% respectively as factors of concern for not opening a company, or developing new businesses.
This could be one of those situations where the “glass is half full, or half empty”, but there is a well-known valence that we cannot ignore, which is in the times of crisis and difficulties that the best opportunities appear. Maybe that’s why the biggest companies we know are born from these moments and, curiously, in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
PS: If you wish you can download the study here.
| Factors | Portugal | United Kingdom | USA |
| Not enough capital to start a company | 29% | 13% | 15% |
| Weak current economic environment | 23% | 9% | 5% |
| Lack of skills | 8% | 7% | 8% |
| No business ideas | 8% | 7% | 4% |
