If you’re in the position of starting your own business, chances are that you have lots of questions going around in your head like do I need to tell anyone I’ve started up; where can I find a start-up grant; or how do I get my first customer?
When I talk to start-up businesses, it’s often the small things that can put people off and I’ve seen people in the stage of finding out about starting a business get ‘stuck’ on an issue that might seem small to the rest of us, but very large to them.
People go to a wide variety of places to find answers to the questions they have including forums, the internet, start-up sites, libraries and book shops and sometimes the question will be answered and sometimes not.
Let me explain what I mean. Starting a business is something that EVERYONE has an opinion on (a bit like weddings). Even if someone has never started a business in their life before, chances are that they’re the world’s expert on the subject.
And with ‘world experts’ comes rumour and speculation. With the start-up companies that we work
with, there is also someone who has an “is it true…?” question.
Why is it then, that if start-ups have a question that they feel is key to their success in their new business, that they don’t actually seek out and go on a business start-up course?
There are several actual start-up courses around, but I know that for every 1 person who attends one, there must be at least 10 people who don’t. Well, perhaps I’m exaggerating a little, but you know what I mean.
Perhaps new businesses just don’t know about them; maybe they think they don’t fit into a certain box and therefore can’t attend one; maybe the information someone seeks is readily available elsewhere or perhaps it’s a combination of the above.
And, I’m not saying that it’s easy to attend one either. Sometimes, the time of day may not suit you, or you may need to pay a little bit to go on one and occasionally they’re not that easy to find either, but I think that the benefits of attending one far outweigh the disadvantages.
So, I’d like to make the case for attending a start-up course in your local area.
Firstly, you’ll be taught by an expert in the area of starting up your own business – no more rumours (and that can only be a good thing)! They’ll be able to answer all your questions and work with you on a one to one basis if you feel you need more help.
You’ll also have face to face contact with others. How often is it that when someone else asks a question, you realise that you need to know this information too? You don’t get this sort of interaction from a book or a forum. And of course, you get to share your ideas with other people.
What about confidentially though? Often it’s an important concern – you’ve spent hours looking into your idea and you don’t want others to steal it do you? Well, the tutor should make it clear that anything said in the room stays in the room and because all the other people there are in the same boat and don’t want anyone to steal their ideas either, there shouldn’t be a problem.
You’ll get information about all the areas of starting a business (legal, financial, writing a business plan, sales, marketing and market research) and not just the area of your initial question. You’ll soon realise that there’s a lot more to running a business than meets the eye and trust me, you’ll be very glad you came along.
And, the other thing about attending a business start-up course is that you’ll prove to yourself and everyone else around you that you’re serious about starting a business and are anxious to learn as much as possible about it.
I would definitely challenge you if you’re currently sitting at home thinking about starting a business to seek out the business start-up courses in your area. Have a look on the internet, in your local paper, in your local library or in the job centre, where they might be advertised. Talk to your bank manager too to try and find them. And if all else fails, contact me and I’ll try and help.
If you’re in Bristol or Gloucestershire and want to start your own business in 2008, you’re in luck. We’ve just set up some 3-day business start-up courses in the early part of next year and booking are now being taken. You can find out more information and book onto the event by either calling us or visiting my website. See my autho bio.
Best of luck with your new venture and don’t forget there’s no substitute for getting the information you need from the people who know.
The purpose of startup courses - To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
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