The health and beauty sector recorded a significant 17 per cent rise in male start-up businesses in 2011. Research by Simply Business has found that beauticians and make-up artists are the fastest growing professions amongst men, each demonstrating an annual increase of 11 per cent.
Based on over 250,000 quote requests received by Simply Business, the figures reveal that beauty is not the only stereotypical female industry men are exploring. Male entrepreneurs have also seen an opportunity in the lucrative cake baking market, with a 71 per cent increase in male cake makers in 2011 and a 370 per cent increase since 2008. Dress making has also attracted an increasingly masculine crowd with a nine per cent increase in male start-ups in 2011.
Jason Stockwood, CEO of Simply Business, commented: “In today’s society, a fair balance between the sexes is well and truly the norm and this is increasingly reflected in business. Gender barriers are breaking down, and men are now more than welcome in professions that are traditionally dominated by women, and vice-versa. This blurring of conventional roles is likely to have been encouraged by the growing profile of ‘metrosexuals’ in the media, and is now reflected in the range of start-ups recorded across the UK.”
“Our survey shows that men from all walks of life can start a business in their preferred skill or passion.”