Sandra Anderson
Palmerston North Enterprise Board.

Unemployment is a reality for many people today with the dwindling of jobs through technology, both locally and internationally and the relocation of many organisations to larger cities and countries. For many of these people there is little hope of finding meaningful full-time employment. One option for these people is to review their interests and to create employment for themselves through self-employment. This idea is only a dream for many, as self-employment is probably well beyond their reach.

With the assistance of organisations such as the Palmerston North Enterprise Board and the Manawatu Resource Centre (which closed through funding restrictions in 1997) business skills training is and has been given to many would be entrepreneurs in the Manawatu to pursue their dream of becoming self-employed and possibly becoming the next Douglas Myers, or Stephen Tindall. These programmes have been provided for through funding by the Community Employment Groups (CEG) who have ensured the needs of these people have been met. There have also been cuts in funding from this area which has reduced the services provided.

Most of the people wishing to be self-employed have become desperate to gain employment of some kind, where they are able to keep busy both physically and mentally. This assists in them remaining positive, retaining self-esteem and being stimulated for their own growth and peace of mind, and that of their families. For many the idea of self-employment starts with a discussion with family and friends or even their WINZ case officer.

Many of those wanting to go into business have very little idea as to what being in business actually entails. For many they see the successful person out in the market place. Many of these successful people have worked very hard to get their business to the stage it is at that moment in time. For the budding entrepreneur this is an attractive prospect and so, with a vision and very little capital to get a venture up and going they embark on the journey of dreams, research and review to look at their chosen venture.

This is where the hard part commences, with research to be done to review their idea in order to ensure that this business is actually both achievable and viable. There are many people who think that because they have a wonderful idea, everyone will want to become their customer and purchase the product or service from them. For the budding business person, completing the research and development stage to look at the viability of their idea gives them an excellent grounding in the what if?

They are able to ask professionals, family and friends for feedback and assistance in reviewing their options. Family and friends can be a problem with the review of ideas as they may be extremely optimistic or on the other hand overly pessimistic. Having family and friends on board with the idea is a must, however professionals need to be consulted with the planning and strategies. These decisions will have a major impact on their future and the greater amount of review work that can be completed at the front end, the better the decision making process will be for the future of the person and family.

Possibly, there is the development of prototype products, which then leads to how is the product going to be manufactured. This may be one of the hardest aspects for the new businessperson as often once the prototype has been developed there is little or no money available to produce any quantity of product. For the person looking for Venture Capital there is very little of this type of finance available. Banks will not loan funds to people without good security. The new businessperson can be stuck with the idea and the prototype. One way the product can be developed is to sell the idea to an organisation that has the funds and capacity to develop this further. Many new product developers are not prepared to lose their product to a third party and the product goes no further. The other aspect here is that many new developers are unaware of the negotiation process to sell their product to a future developer.

The actual business planning is also important for the future of the business. By carrying out this planning it further gives the intending business person the data to review and to ensure that, this is in fact a venture they are wanting to enter into. There have been cases of people that have worked through the business idea only to find that once all the planning is completed the business is not viable for one reason or another. Some, because of the financial implications, others, because of their own skills or the lack of markets or even enthusiasm.

Many people wanting to start their own enterprise want to do this for the reasons identified previously, however for many there is the freedom of not being controlled by THE BOSS. These people will soon realise that the business is THE BOSS and will consume vast amounts of their time. However, the rewards may be good. There will also be many lifestyle choices that need to be made with family and friends. Very quickly the new businessperson will identify they are able to start and finish work when they want to, however they will also find they need to work long hours in order to meet client demands and to ensure all the business administration is carried out. Self-employed people need to have great skills in time management to ensure they are able to achieve the balance of business and pleasure they require within their working day.

Technical skills are usually the most predominant attribute that the new businessperson takes to the business. The new businessperson needs not only to have technical skills but to also have some entrepreneurial and managerial skills in order to ensure the continuing success of the business. This continued success if these skills are not obvious would be minimal. The businessperson should seek assistance from a professional to ensure that these managerial and entrepreneurial skills are introduced to the business at an early stage. The business owner completing further training in these and other identified areas can address these skills. For some this is not an option due to their working style and that they want to "do it their way". However the astute businessperson will identify the skills required and introduce the relevant people to the business in order to achieve their goals. To employ people will also involve careful planning and for many new business people the aspect of having work for themselves is the ultimate goal to be achieved.

If we are to have successful micro businesses we must ensure that the people operating the businesses are skilled in the areas of management and entrepreneurship, not to mention that they should also possess the technical skills to operate the venture.

All business people should be encouraged to review their skills on a regular basis and undertake the development of further skills training to ensure that they will be successful and grow their business and so contribute to a more healthy economy.