As we wrote last week, it seems to be the season for polls and surveys at the moment.
An informal poll of the Freelance Advisor office I took just now reveals that around 65% of people think there are a lot of poll results flying around right now. Another one has appeared today asking freelancers to name the business person they most admire in the UK.
The survey, carried out by OfficeCavalry.com, reveals that UK freelancers most admire that stalwart of British business, Sir Richard Branson. Whether this is because of his business acumen, or because he is the world’s first spaceship-owning Knight, sadly wasn’t revealed.
The poll, taking in the views of 5,000 freelancers across the country, showed that Branson – currently thought to be worth around £3billion – still holds a great deal of sway, despite being overtaken in the celebrity stakes by the likes of Sir Alan Sugar and Peter Jones of Dragon’s Den fame.
Sugar, incidentally, came second place in the survey, above Simon Cowell in third. Other big names on the list include Dame Anita Roddick of Bodyshop in fifth, and inventor James Dyson in eighth.
Andy Turner of Office Cavalry commented on the results, saying
“Brits are clearly inspired by the true vision of these business figures, many of whom started from humble beginnings, and have now become household names like Lord Alan Sugar.
“Determination and ambition to become your own boss clearly plays a part and it’s encouraging to see that an increasing number of Britons are opting for a freelance lifestyle.”
This jibes quite nicely with the other survey results we’ve seen recently, reporting that numbers of freelancers in the UK are on the rise, and that most cite increased independence as a driving factor in their decision to go it alone.
