A survey to launch an inspirational new business guide has revealed that the UK is a hotbed of frustrated entrepreneurs, with 80 per cent of all respondents considering setting up their own business.

However, with less than half that group going on to make their dream a reality, it seems that many people still need to be convinced before they make the jump to being their own boss.

Despite a similar representation of men and women being questioned for the survey, a disproportionate amount (58 per cent) of women do not see themselves making their idea a reality in comparison to 32 per cent of men.

Although finance was cited as the primary reason for people not taking the plunge, 22 per cent of women also mentioned that a lack of confidence was the main factor.

To encourage more people to release their inner entrepreneur a new book Start Up! has just been released by Pearson Prentice Hall.

With an honesty which makes the book a page turner from the start, author Liz Jackson details everything involved in starting your own business from the planning stages through to employing staff, developing growth strategies and dealing with the inevitable setbacks.

What is most compelling about the book is that one of the author's setbacks included going completely blind one year into her own business start-up. Yet seven years, a staff of more than 100 and a turnover of more than £2m later, Liz is here to tell the tale and hopes to encourage anyone dreaming of setting up a business to take those all important first steps. "My primary reason for writing the book isn't to tell my story. I want to share my experiences to encourage anyone that has a dream to start their own business," said Liz Jackson. "I strongly believe that we need much more imagination, courage and creativity across the whole of British industry. Thousands of people have within them the same stuff as Richard Branson and Anita Roddick they just need to believe it and release it."