How to go from Employee to Entrepreneur
But starting your own business can be a daunting prospect and sometimes it is hard to know where to start. Here is our top advice on making the switch from employee to entrepreneur.
Start with ‘intrapreneurship’. If you are fortunate to be working for an entrepreneurial company, chances are you will already be encouraged to think innovatively, whether it’s improving business processes or refreshing the product or service the company offers. However, any employee can adopt the role of company innovator, or intrapreneur, and often that role will be recognised by the senior management. It’s a great way to test your entrepreneurial skills and business acumen, without the financial risk, as well as expanding your network.
Look out for opportunities to improve, streamline, reduce costs, or improve efficiency, and spearhead those changes within your department or the organisation. It could be something as simple as a staff incentive scheme, becoming social secretary, or being responsible for reducing waste across the business, but whatever it is, make sure you own it.
Network. Join clubs, volunteer, go to conferences, contribute to forums, and read relevant trade magazines, white papers and journals. We are lucky in the UK to have quite an accessible enterprise sector, and an encouraging entrepreneurial culture, so make the most of the many hundreds of resources available to learn more about starting and running your own business. There are thousands of people who have made the transition to entrepreneurship and the majority of them have shared their stories online, via a blog, and in magazines and newspapers, so learn from their mistakes and remember their advice!
Have a support system. Making the change from employee to entrepreneur can be a difficult transition, but there are ways to help make it easier. Of course, if you have an understanding employer, you may find that they are supportive of your ambitions and can perhaps offer you a more flexible working schedule, for example. It will also be advantageous if you can call on friends and family members to help get your new business started. That could just be providing useful and honest feedback, or providing financial help, or both, but until you can start generating enough income, you will be glad of all the ‘free’ help you can get!
Apply to the New Entrepreneurs Foundation’s programme! Starting in September it is a 12-month programme designed to help you develop your skills, expand your network, and support your new business. It also includes a salaried position at some of the UK’s most innovative companies, such as Uber and Seedrs. This combines financial security while you start out but more importantly a chance to leave an impact in a real business, and get first-hand experience in the day-to-day running of a fast-growing startup.
Applications for NEF open in January 2017.
Original Blog by Neeta Patel — CEO @ New Entrepreneurs Foundation for Huffington Post
