The experts are people who've been through the business start-up process and are now running their own successful businesses. Registration gives you access to an expert, who has been assigned to help you take your idea forward.
“Don’t underestimate how hard it is and how long it will take to get yourself established. Don’t underestimate how much you can achieve by being passionate and focused in what you want to do. Enjoy the journey, don’t get too hung up on the destination.”
“My greatest achievements have been seeing a vision come to reality, driving to work and not being able to park because so many people work in the business you created. An enormous sense of achievement and of having really made a difference.”
“Don’t be afraid to have a go – be sure you are passionate about what you want to do. Get a good education-one that is fit for your purpose. Listen to others and learn to network like a demon.”
Be inventive and never stop thinking of ways to improve yourself, your business and your reputation. Take a look at www.sockson.co.uk for more information on the business I have recently created.
Connect Yorkshire is a not-for-profit business that helps nuture and support young technology businesses.
“Be committed and willing to work hard. If you’re prepared to work at your business 8 days a week, 5 weeks a month and 13 months a year you’ll probably succeed, if you’d rather chill out and listen to your ipod, then you probably won’t.”
“If you have an exciting idea and you truly believe in it – do something about it. Many people will doubt you, many people will support you. If you believe your product or your business can be a success – then make it a success.”
“Dedication, determination and passion in all you do will bring success. I read somewhere recently that the dictionary is the only place where you will find ‘success’ coming before ‘work’.”
“Living my dream has meant, being in control of my own destiny, gaining some valuable work/life balance, and meeting other awe inspiring individuals – I would recommend the leap to anyone.”
Bounce Snack Foods UK was started in February 2005, it supplies healthy snacks to health food shops and juice bars around the UK and is currently expanding into Europe.
“We have a passion for design and challenging our aspirations of being ‘designers’. We feel that we make a difference to people’s lives and businesses through our creativity.”
“Cash-Flow is the biggest headache for me. It’s ok having grand ideas but you need to have the funds to support them on top of the day to day running costs that a business requires. I’ve had to learn the art of budgeting pretty fast!”
“My biggest challenge in setting up the company was a lack of business knowledge, funds and of course my age! It is very difficult to be taken seriously at 15 when I started out!”
Since a young age I’ve been very interested in starting up a business, and since my first small ventures in my college days of buying broken phones on eBay, fixing them, then selling them on, I suppose I caught the entrepreneurs bug. I love the idea of creating and growing something to work on myself, and love the huge potential involved in starting up your own business compared to working in someone else’s.