Supporting student and graduate entrepreneurs

How can we help new entrepreneurs get their first business of the ground? Peter Watson, managing director at Distract, says the best place to start is to understand the challenges that budding entrepreneurs will face…

Being your own boss and having complete control over your own work is often the ultimate goal for many people when they start working, but it isn't always so simple.

Lots of people, especially young people and graduates, want to be entrepreneurs. The problem is that entrepreneurs are born, not made. To be successful you have to have a real drive and, more often than not, you either have it or you don't.

Now we've burst that bubble, how can we support those genuine entrepreneurs so that they can build their businesses to maximise their potential? It's all about not pushing heads under water before they've even got their business off the ground.

Here are four challenges that new entrepreneurs will face - and may need help with.

1. Finding a place to work

Any business needs office space, so it's inevitable that one day the budding entrepreneur has to move their work out of their bedroom or garage and find an office space that clients can visit and where new hires can move to. Finding somewhere willing to offer free office space to entrepreneurs is massively beneficial.

Renting an office space can absolutely crush a new business financially. If finding clients wasn't hard enough for a new business with little experience, having to pay for office space at the same time is incredibly difficult.

A good workspace allows a business to grow from what might start as a solo enterprise into a business with a small team. There are a lot of places, usually a part of a university, where small businesses can have temporary free or cheap office spaces perfect for entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

2. Identifying grants and seed funding

All businesses need at least a little bit of capital to get started, and that can be hard to come across for recent graduates. Fortunately, there are a handful of government grants that can get them going and also some private ones too.

Small business grants are a form of funding and support given by the government and certain private bodies to UK small businesses that meet particular criteria. A local government body may award a monetary grant to new businesses starting in a specific area to support the local economy.

It's also possible to find local seed fund incubators that invest in small businesses to help them grow. These are often run by people who had the same struggles as they started their own business journey. A little bit of experience goes a long way.

3. Turning to consultants

Consultants are a great source of knowledge when starting a business. However, they can only go so far and can be really expensive. They also don't always have the necessary skills needed to hone an entrepreneur. It's often best to steer clear and get advice and mentorship from elsewhere.

There are several dangers to using consultants. One of these is trusting advice from consultants who don't necessarily have enough relevant experience to give useful guidance. Another more pressing issue is that some consultants are simply promoting their own agendas. Some are eager to push services onto entrepreneurs that can generate some commission, rather than offer useful advice and support.

Entrepreneurs can be some of the most vulnerable young business owners. Not every consultant will have their best interests in mind.

4. Seeking role models

The best advice on entrepreneurship is from other entrepreneurs. There are hundreds of speaking events up and down the country where you can find business owners who went through similar struggles to what today's entrepreneurs are facing.

The most successful entrepreneurs will be those who best utilise the materials and resources available to them. Starting a business is hard work and requires a lot of time, commitment, positivity and sometimes a little bit of luck. If tomorrow's entrepreneurs are going to grow successful businesses they need to be supported and nurtured along their journey.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of HECSU/Prospects

Written by

Peter Watson

Managing director

Distract