Did
you know that lots of young people think that starting your own
business is a good idea?
Many job areas
lend themselves to working for yourself - construction, hair and
beauty, catering, art, finance to name but a few. It's not
easy working for yourself - you can't just go on holiday to take it
easy for a while without thinking about how it could affect your
business - but there are lots of advantages too.
You
can work in lots of different ways if you're
self-employed:
-
Starting and
running your own business (selling products or a
service)
-
Working for
different organisations on a number of short-term or part-time
contracts
-
Freelancing
(many people who work in the media freelance. So do writers and
business consultants)
-
Teaching
(private tuition at people's homes)
-
Franchising
(for example, running a pub for a brewery)
-
Setting up a
partnership or co-operative
(owning part of a business with other people)
There are
a number of questions you should ask yourself if you're thinking
about working for yourself:
- Do you know what type of business you
want to develop?
- How will you finance your
business?
- Have you got a business plan? You'll need
to provide a business plan to organisations such as banks, training
and enterprise councils etc who give loans and grants for business
start up.
- Where will you work from? Will you have
to rent or buy somewhere? Can you work from home?
- Will you make enough
money?
- Will you need to employ other
people?
- Do you have the self-discipline and
determination to succeed?
What
skills will I need?
Lots of skills
will be useful if you want to be an entrepeneur!
-
Creativity
-
Innovation
-
Initiative
-
Open
mindedness
-
Selling
skills
-
Communication
skills
-
Decision
making
-
Problem
solving
-
Team
working
-
Time
management
-
Taking
responsibility
-
Presentation
skills
-
Risk
management
Where can
I get more information?
There are many
organisations who provide support and some who provide funding to
young people to help them set up a new enterprise.
Use the links
below to help you find out more...
Useful
links:
Shell
Livewire
Information,
support and advice for 16-30 year olds who want to set up
their own business.
The Prince's
Trust
Help lots of
young people with their business start-up programme.
New
business - new life
A free support
service for people aged 16 and over. They also
offer training and short courses to help you with aspects of
business planning, marketing and finance.
Fetch!
More useful
websites...
