The Alliance and Leicester claims that the majority of entrepreneurs that do well are the first born child and have at least one brother or sister.
Having spoken to business owners across the country the Alliance and Leicester found that 60 percent of them were the eldest child in the family, with 85 percent of them having younger siblings. This suggested that they could have developed their teamwork and leadership skills.
Other personal traits that are the sign of a successful entrepreneur include dependability, consideration and being a good listener. The Alliance and Leicester also found that state education works well for the entrepreneur, with over 70 percent having a regular state education.
Abbey National owner Santander has reported profits for the first six months of the year up by 6 percent compared with the same time last year.
If a one off figure was removed from the figures then the actual profit generated by Santander, best known in the UK as the owner of the Abbey National, would have been a much higher 22 percent. This figure is also higher than analysts had predicted, although shares still traded down slightly on the day.
Santander are very much a global business, with connections to most parts of the world. This enables them to find many more opportunities to create profitable business since they are not tied to just one market. However even the Abbey National delivered good results for them, something that could not always have been expected with the economic situation currently facing UK businesses.
Excluding London it has been found that Milton Keynes is the most expensive place to operate a small business, this according to the Alliance and Leicester Business Banking unit.
It has found that the property rental costs, the price of labour and also transportation are higher here, meaning small businesses have to deal with higher operating costs before they can begin to make any profit. The Alliance and Leicester found Milton Keynes to be the most expensive place to rent retail space and also the eighth best place for wages.
One of the good things about this Alliance and Leicester survey is that high business costs are also associated with businesses doing well. Therefore there are opportunities for new businesses to succeed in Milton Keynes.
