Advice For Young Entrepreneurs

For a sizeable minority of young people, the well-trodden path from school to university and into a career, working up the ladder slowly but surely, simply isn’t an option. Although it suits some people, working for someone else just doesn’t cut it for those who have a desire to set up their own business.

It might be that you have a special skill, talent or passion that you want to make into a career, or that you simply hate the idea of making money for someone else and feel you could run a better business yourself. Whatever the reasons behind wanting to set up your own business after leaving the structured world of education, it’s important that you don’t rush into anything and that you take your time to get it right. Many businesses fail because of bad planning, bad research and bad timing, so make sure yours isn’t one of them.

The first major tip to take on board when it comes to setting yourself up in business is to do plenty of research first. You need to find out if there is demand out there for your product or service, what competition there is and how you can stand out from the crowd in order to drum up business. If your product or service has many existing competitors, you will need a unique selling point (USP) in order to make any kind of profit.

Having the right connections is important for making it in business and so you need to make sure you actively connect with people, both in real life and online. You need to shout about your business and social media makes it easier than ever before for small businesses to do just that.

However, in order to shout about your business you need to have total belief in yourself and business plan. Finding the motivation to succeed in your chosen career path can sometimes be difficult but perseverance, hard work and constantly reminding yourself of your end goal will all help you find success.

As well as mental willpower, there are also practical considerations. Any businesses need a cash injection to get off the ground but never take a loan you can’t pay back as it just isn’t worth the risk. Instead, turn to charitable organisations such as The Prince’s Trust, which offers practical and financial help to young people looking for employment, work or training.