- Start slowly - e.g. start with a bucket and a sponge and grow into a multi-person, uniformed, formally asked for at garages, team of carwashers
- Opportunity coaches - a team of people who share a context and help you recognise and start a business, mentors, advisors who each have their own field of expertise
- Common mistakes - research first, then market research the people you are getting, open a business account, do the things you are good at and subcontract to experts (especially accountants), save and put money back into your business, network with other businesses like yours and build overflow relationships with them (then if you need something you can ask them)
- Money - avoid lending from banks, make partnerships (cover all details, with contract), when will you pay out the profits, what percentages, get financial advice to govern the partnership relationship
- Second job - keep your day job, get someone to help you with your second job and build slowly
- Someone may steal my idea - don't worry, there are many people doing the same thing, do it better, have a better gimmick idea, e.g. Tupperware (the method is unusual - sell at parties)
- Tip - make sure your business does it in a different way, unusual
- Businessman attributes - have tried at least one business before, second and third businesses are more often successful, the informal sector is an important starting place (less risk, more community aware), start awareness of entrepreneurship at school
- Workshop - Sheryl Baldwin 011 5013001, sheryl@bused.co.za (free book, free 2-hour workshops for opportunity coaches)
Ian Clark (Business Education Design - Give Yourself a Job Project)
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