In today's economic life, and especially since the famous “whatever it takes”, not a week goes by without this or that aid to businesses being mentioned, another new one or the reduction or deletion of an old one. And yet, for entrepreneurs, it is not the aid that determines their strategy, and very fortunately. Comments by Pascal Ferron, partner Walter France.
Help to survive the Covid crisis, hiring assistance, aid for business creation, tax exemptions… the panorama of aid is such that certain sites have specialized in this area and offer their services so that companies can identify the aid and subsidies to which they are entitled. But for Pascal Ferron it is time to set the record straight. If the interest in aid, in some cases, is obvious, it is illusory to think that they have a determining impact on the decisions of business leaders. The best example : hiring assistance. Do you really think that a business manager will hire a young person?, a work-study student or a senior “because there is help” ? Certainly not. The opposite happens. An entrepreneur needs labor, he knows he has to hire. And only after making your decision, he will generally ask his accountant what assistance he could benefit from. Regarding work-study students, it is true that, during the five-year term of François Hollande, everything had been done to create a maximum of more or less prohibitive constraints. After Covid, it was necessary to give a serious boost to these formulas which can prove to be excellent springboards at a time when many young people have only very vague ideas of the world of work. Currently, the main problem of entrepreneurs is finding enough competent resources, rather than chasing hiring aid.
Business creations and assisted territories are not correlated
According to the 2022 Bpifrance report on business creation in France, more than a million businesses were created in 2022. A new record is reached, with 21,000 additional registrations compared to 2021. Microenterprises keep the bar high, since six out of ten businesses are created by self-employed people. However, if business creation increases in all sectors in 2022, It is clear that this increase occurs whether the territories are aided or not. ! And yet, the devices are numerous : rural revitalization areas (ZRR), regional aid zones (AFR), joint “city heart action” (ACV), small towns of tomorrow (PVD). In 2022, 428,500 businesses were created in these territories, i.e. four creations out of ten. According to Bpifrance, “these territories accounting for nearly half of the French population, the number of creations per head is mechanically lower than elsewhere (133 creations in 2022 per 10,000 inhabitants compared to 185 in “unaided” territories). The business renewal rate is also lower with 175 creations per 1,000 existing businesses in 2020., against 193 for the “unassisted”.
Second-stage aid
Here again, at the beginning, an entrepreneur develops a creative idea. And only secondly, if it is located within a supported territory or nearby, it is obvious that he will exploit this aid. It would be totally incongruous if he did not take advantage of it. But that’s not what motivated him in the first place., nor what will strongly encourage him to move. This is a plus which only very partially compensates for the strong constraints. Other motivations are needed to establish ourselves in these territories. Of course, we are not talking here about the immeasurable aid negotiated over the counter for the establishment of such a gigafactory of such a large foreign group…
But aid can be vital
Of course, there is no question here of denying the benefit of aid in certain cases. During the recent Covid-19 crisis, the aid granted to businesses has enabled them, for many of them, to survive this period. They helped save two million businesses, mainly SMEs, and save 700,000 jobs, for a cost that is ultimately not so high considering, for example, the level of fuel and gas-electricity aid, which are only holes without funds intended to correct previous strategic errors. It also appears particularly justified that farmers, whose activity is vital for our food — and who not only undergo an unequaled level of regulation while also being subjected to permanent and distressing pressure from the markets, but also the hazards specific to the climate and its erratic variations, nothing directly attributable to them —, can be subsidized and supported in their developments. Likewise, helping companies in difficulty overcome a difficult milestone to safeguard French know-how and employment is self-evident, Once again we must not make the wrong strategy.
Young people want to start businesses with or without help
One March 2023, the Opinionway institute carried out, on behalf of the Salon Go-Entrepreneurs, a study on business creation. This study shows that 24% of all French people want to create or take over a business., or to set up on their own : a quarter of the population ! And what is even more encouraging is the fact that, for young people aged 18 to 30, this percentage rises to… 49% ! And of course aid and subsidies are never mentioned in their motivations... It is often a very modest boost compared to financing needs..
Loosening administrative shackles should be the first priority
Business leaders would be much more interested in a reduction and better consistency in the face of piling up regulatory constraints., reporting obligations and various and varied standards, Who, in addition to their phenomenal number, keeps moving and crisscrossing. A simple (longue) break would already be a real breath of fresh air. For Pascal Ferron : “If the interest of certain aid cannot be denied, on the other hand, the entrepreneurial spirit must be constantly encouraged by a newfound freedom of entrepreneurs who would appreciate the relief of the numerous constraints to which they are subject in order to be able to devote themselves to the development of their activity, which is already a heavy task in itself. »
