23rdJanuary 2012
‘Is starting a business right for you’
The first of 2012’s enterprise club kicked off last night with Mohammed Aleem, Enterprise Coach from Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber.
Aleem gave an excellent overview of the key areas that need to be considered when starting out as a new business. He highlighted the importance of developing a business idea into a clear vision. This can be achieved by’ following the enterprise coach ‘honing your business idea’ exercise. This exercise requires the start up to focus on sixteen key areas, for instance:
Why have you chosen this business idea?
What difficulties might you have?
What can you do to overcome these difficulties?
What are your strengths? Could you use them to create a business.
When do you plan to start trading?
Who are your competitors?
Who are your customers?
After a group discussion around these areas Aleem moved on to market research and emphasised the importance of getting to know both your potential consumers and competitors.
The final part of Aleem’s presentation looked at marketing. Aleem pointed out how marketing is quite a broad term, encompassing many things that we all do on a day to day basis. So, marketing not only includes advertising your goods and services or distributing flyers etc but it can also refer to daily activities, such as telling the people you meet on a daily basis about your idea, the image and branding that you have for your business, through to the quality of customer care that you provide.
One of the top tips that I took away form Aleem’s presentation was his advice to draw up a large plan of all the market research and marketing areas that need to be considered. Aleem suggested displaying it on a kitchen wall and adding to it each day when an idea occurs to you.
To find out more about the services Aleem offers please email him at: mohammed.aleem@yourchamber.org.uk
The next Enterprise clubwill focus on tax and national insurance and runs on the 6th of February 6 – 7.45pm at Leeds Central Library. To find out more please ring Business and Patent Information Services 0113 2478266
