Young Entrepreneurs

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Everything starts with just an idea. My business Young Entrepreneur Society (YES) was once just an idea! I knew I wanted to be my own boss but the question was how and what do I start a business doing? I left college in May 2009 at 19 years old and became unemployed and claiming Job Seekers Allowance. I have always been the type of person who wanted a job that helps other people in some way then it would not feel so much like work and I would know I was doing something worthwhile. I started to research how to start a business and what you need to know to begin but the amount of different information I found on the internet was impossible to take in – if you Google “Business Plan” did you know more than 400 million results come up?! How on earth are you supposed to pick out the best bits?

This is when I had the “light bulb” moment! Eureka I shrieked! I have found the answer! (OK it didn’t quite happen like that) I thought to myself if I am having this problem then surely other young people are too so why not create a solution? Basically I saw a gap in the market for an easy online programme that could teach me entrepreneurial and personal development skills and I couldn’t find one so I decided to make one so other young people don’t have this problem anymore. The best place to start creating something interesting, motivational and inspirational I thought was to ask successful people how they did it because at the end of the day the best way to learn entrepreneurial skills is from people who have been there and done it and who have the experience and knowledge. I contacted some of the top business people in the country who agreed to let me interview them and ask questions from a young person’s point of view. Who cares about economic growth strategy in China? Us young Entrepreneurs want to know the nitty gritty real life stuff – how successful people became successful, what their advice is, how to get funding and how to keep keeping on when things get tough! People like Mike Clare the founder of Dreams the country’s leading bed specialist, Julie Meyer BBC2’s Dragon on Dragons’ Den Online and Adam Balon co-founder of innocent are a few of the people I have been privileged enough to have met and interviewed and who have shared their stories for the next generation of entrepreneurs to learn from.

Our Millionaire and Expert Mentor interviews have been integrated into our programme The 12 Steps to Success covering lots of the skills you need to have to not only run your own business but also life skills you should have anyway so you can be successful in everything you do. There are interviews, videos, workbooks and suggested reading essential for any young Entrepreneur to have access to! The programme is soon to be a nationally recognised qualification and funded by government. I started with a small loan from The Prince’s Trust and just been asked by them to become one of the new 24 Young Ambassador’s for the South East and London. I also got a loan from another charity Frederick’s Foundation.

As well as our 12 Steps to Success Programme working in partnership with the Job Centre for young unemployed, colleges, school and young entrepreneurs we run regular events for young entrepreneurs under 35 with access to funding, motivational and celebrity entrepreneur speakers, mentoring, networking, business advice and more. We are partner in The Clare Business School a new elite school set up by Mike Clare the founder of Dreams teaching young people business skills which is very exciting!

We need more entrepreneurs! YES is about helping the next generation of entrepreneurs not only create jobs for themselves but for other people too. Here are some business tips to help you start your journey in entrepreneurship!

Start at the top and work down! –Lots of people seem to think it’s out of reach contacting successful people and people that are senior or own a company. Having interviewed some of the top Entrepreneurs in the country myself I now know these people are not out of reach at all. It is a lot easier in business to contact decision makers that are either senior in a company or own it because they can give you a direct answer and help you more so try and get in front of the people at the top first. You will get quicker results than starting at the bottom and working up!
Follow Up!- Following up business/meetings etc can be very hard to keep track of. Always put appointments in your diary so you can refer back and see who you have met and when so you can determine how long things are taking to happen with that person. You need to contact every person with a thank you email after meeting with them and then call them the next week. People are generally very busy but don’t let them forget you otherwise you might lose that client. – Persistence is key!
Set Written Goals!-Set your top 7 goals for the year. It’s good timing with the New Year approaching. Write your goals down – this is VERY important! Break the goals down into BE, DO and HAVE. The HAVE stuff is easy, we all want to HAVE a nice car and HAVE a nice house but we can’t HAVE any of that unless we know what we want to BE and DO first! Create a vision board. Cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers and stick them around the house, visualise your goals but more importantly take action! If you take baby steps every day towards your goal it will be inevitable – your goal will be reached!
Read Business Biographies and personal development books- At the moment I am reading Duncan Bannatyne’s book called Anyone Can Do It which is one of the best books I have ever read. It’s such a great way to learn from people who have already been there and done it. Learn from their successes and failures and then apply that to your business where appropriate! A book only costs a few pounds! Another great one is Liz Jackson (Young Entrepreneur Society Millionaire Mentor) her book StartUp! Is fantastic. There are thousands out there. The one I recommend most for personal development is The Power by Ronda Byrne. Look them up and let me know your favourites by emailing me carly@youngentrepreneursociety.org.uk
Enter For Awards! –from Liz Jackson’s book I learnt to enter for awards because they are free publicity and if you get to the final it’s free PR for you and your business! Having taken Liz’s great advice in her book StartUp! I entered for the Haines Watts Young Entrepreneur of the Year and made the final and was nominated by someone else for Women of the Future and also made the final – it works!