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Start Your Own Business
"This time next year, Rodney, we'll be millionaires."
Del Boy had a plan and he stuck with it down the years. All right, it might have involved selling exploding blow-up dolls and dodgy decorating schemes, but the man had tenacity. Trotters Independent Traders, for all its faults, kept Del in little cocktail umbrellas. A maverick, he knew in his heart and soul that he didn't want to work for anyone else. Indeed, it was unlikely any employer could have withstood the glare of those outfits. If you feel the same surge of independence flowing through your veins, then perhaps you should think about setting up your own business.
However, before you tell your boss exactly what you would like to do to her daughters/sons, ask yourself if you can see this through. Do you have drive and motivation? Is your business idea sound and can you cope with long hours and stress? If the answers are yes, then your own business is within your grasp. (If you are unsure, then test your business acumen with an online quiz at www.careersteps123.com/quiz.html.)
If you are taking your first small steps on the road to fortune, then perhaps you should consider undertaking an entrepreneurial course. Many a small business falls at the first hurdle and a course will give yours a fighting chance by teaching you the tricks, tips and legal loopholes necessary to keep your business afloat.
The first thing that an entrepreneurial course will teach you is to set up a business plan. The information that a business plan should contain includes information on general business and economic conditions, the industry that you want to break into, your market, your idea, and your company's raison d'étre and strategy. This consolidates your ideas, makes you aware of possible risks and stratagems, and, suitably amended, is useful for showing your bank manager.
Subsequent steps include market research, costing, advertising, employment, tax and accounting, legal requirements and funding. Don't worry if it all sounds a bit daunting. Your course should take you through all that you need to know. There are also a number of helpful authorities whose mission is to foster new business and entrepreneurship. Enterprise Ireland and the city and county enterprise boards are just some of the organisations that can help you start up. You may even find that you are eligible for a grant.
If you still think that you want to go ahead with things, then you should steel yourself for setbacks. It takes an average of three years for a new business to become profitable and that is not including the ones that don't make it. Failure rate is high for new businesses, which is why it is so important to think things out carefully before you begin.
Prepare yourself to be the boss you always hated - strong on discipline, working every weekend and renouncing fun. If you are working from home, then you will have to resist the twin temptresses Oprah Winfrey and Jenny Jones. Clients won't find you very professional if you answer the phone through a mouth full of Weetabix with "You took me in, well guess what? I took your man!" playing in the background. Don't go there.
If you have a burning ambition to open a burger bar in Donnybrook or a sheepfarm in Sandycove why not check out the numerous colleges that provide business courses; Kilroy's College, Ormonde Business School, DBS and Senior College Dun Laoghaire are just a handful of the colleges around Ireland that cater for all you budding entrepreneurs around there...
- Business
- Business
- Business Qualifications
- Management
- Marketing, E-Commerce & HR
- Show Me the Money
- Step up Your Career with a Short and Practical Course
- Student Profile - Aisling
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