what courses are available.
Probably the most practical approach is your local TAFE. Although the courses on offer vary from campus to campus, look for a particular small business course that focuses on getting a business started, and which includes formulating your very first business plan.
Similarly, you may find something relevant through your local community college, but be aware that the quality of these courses varies. (Community colleges don’t always stick to curriculums in the same way as TAFEs do, so the quality of their courses depends on the individual tutors, and whether or not the course is working towards a particular certification.)
If business management is what turns you on (and this doesn’t necessarily mean working for yourself), an undergraduate course at university may be your best bet. For example, I completed a joint major in Accounting and Business Management, and the subjects provided a great all-round understanding for all kinds of things.
If you have a university degree under your belt in a different area, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is another option. But, be aware — while an MBA is an impressive achievement, it isn’t a hugely practical option if you’re thinking of running a small one-person enterprise, because the overall emphasis of such courses is on larger enterprises and organisations, rather than on small business.
Staying Safe or Inventing the Wheel?
Businesses fall into three broad categories. The first type of business is one that has been done before, and therefore, has been tried and tested. The second type of business is one that finds its own niche, thereby doing something especially tailored to a small group of customers. The third type of business is one that launches an entirely new concept on the world.
Playing it safe
Probably the safest and most reliable approach is to go for an established kind of business; one that lots of people have tried and succeeded in before you. Most retail shops and many service businesses fall into this category — for example, bookshops, florists or hairdressers, builders, electricians or plumbers.
One good thing about going into the kind of business that many others have done before you is that you can find out what to expect in terms of sales, profit margins, expenses and more. With this kind of business, success depends not so much on the strength of your original idea, but more on good business sense and your ongoing capacity to differentiate yourself from your competitors. If possible, this difference should capitalise on your skills and resources, so that this difference is hard for competitors to imitate.
If you choose to go with an established kind of business, you may prefer to purchase an existing business, rather than starting from scratch. For many kinds of established businesses, franchising is also an option. Skip to Chapter 3 to find out more.
Finding your own niche
The next type of business is called a niche business. Developing a niche means doing something specialised and catering to a small but (hopefully) dedicated market. A niche business can cover anything from manufacturing custom guitars to producing hand-stitched silk lingerie, or from designing permaculture gardens to cooking special food for diabetics.
The best thing about niche businesses is that you can start off on a small scale. Starting small means low risk, less expense setting up and an opportunity to try out your idea and test the response. The best way to promote a niche business is usually through online advertising, where developing your own e-commerce site along with a social media presence can mean generating business all around the globe. For lots more about social media and building your marketing plan, check out Chapter 11.
Going out on a limb
The last type of business is called the entrepreneur type, reserved for new inventions or new market concepts. Untested and unknown, this type of business can occasionally experience resounding success but (sadly), more often, spectacular failure. (I still feel a pang whenever I remember my friend’s invention of a solar-powered windmill-hat, a great idea but scarcely a hot fashion item.)
With the entrepreneur type of business, you’re taking a gamble. Though the chance of failure is high, if you do succeed (and success is always possible), the rewards can be huge. I talk about market research, and how to find the products or services that customers really want, in Chapters 2, 5 and 11.
Assessing your chances of survival
Australians are a pretty entrepreneurial bunch. With a population of 25 million (give or take a few), almost 2.4 million businesses are alive and kicking. Impressive, don’t you reckon? Almost 10 per cent of the population run their own business.
But what about business survival? Are all these businesses fly-by-nighters, that start up one year and are gone the next? Not so long ago, a business coaching franchise advised a client of mine that 80 per cent of businesses go bust in the first year, and only 8 per cent of businesses survive five years or more.
Pish tosh. Business is tough, but it’s not a suicidal mission. The ABS reports that half of new businesses without employees, and 30 to 40 per cent of new businesses with employees, cease trading within the first three years. However, these figures don’t shed light on how many businesses chose to cease trading (as opposed to going broke or ‘failing’), and how many businesses actually experienced financial loss upon closing their business. In my experience, very few business people rate their overall experience as a negative one.
A QUICK QUIZ FOR SUCCESS
So, you’re not sure if you’re cut out for the world of business? Then don’t leave your steady (but mind-numbingly boring) government job quite yet. Instead, complete this illuminating questionnaire to see how you rate in the success stakes.
Your most recent power bill is unreal (as is your newest love). You know you can’t pay the bill on time. Do you …
1 Think ‘what the hell’ — this is what love is all about.
2 Stay awake at night wondering where you’re going to find the readies.
3 Contact the power company and ask for a fortnight’s extension.
4 Live on Vegemite sandwiches and take cold showers until you’re flush with cash again.
It’s
