3. Yvonne O’Donovan
The main blockage to you starting up is not
Access to cash
Access to support
Lack of ideas
Making losses
NO: The main barrier to success is YOU
4. Yvonne O’Donovan
Company A
• Over-confident, under-disciplined
Company B
• My mates are great, who needs to write
stuff down
Company C
• Over-reliant on others to tell us what to do,
• Not strong enough to say no to the money
• The piper calls the tune
5. Yvonne O’Donovan
Ideas People
What
For who
How
Where
Quality
Money Materials
Equipment
£££ $$$ Stock
Buildings
9. Grants: eligibility
There are a number of factors which could affect your eligibility for a grant.
1. Location
2. Size of your turnover or the number of employees. Many grants are limited to
small or medium-sized enterprises - typically those with fewer than 250
employees.
3. Your industry
4. The purpose of the grant (Grants are often awarded for a specific purpose
such as purchasing machinery, improving offices, increasing employment or
developing export markets. Grant bodies prefer to see specific targets and
results, compatible with their own objectives
As well as making an assessment of the benefits of your project, the awarding
body will expect a high level of commitment from you and your business and for
the project to be commercially viable
10. Yvonne O’Donovan
Support for specific groups
There are other organisations aimed directly at specific groups to help with business
and funding support, for example:
1. Women : Prowess gives details of all women's business support organisations by
region.
2. Mature people : The Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) is an
organisation aimed at assisting entrepreneurs over the age of 50
3. People with disabilities : The Disabled Entrepreneurs Network has produced a
booklet called 'Setting up in Business: A Resource guide for disabled people and
their advisers'. This includes information about tax, the Access to Work
scheme, business planning, courses, grants, finance and working from home. To
get a copy, send an email to info@disabled-entrepreneurs.net. Disability charity
Leonard Cheshire and easy Group chairman Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou run an annual
award for an exceptional disabled entrepreneur. See the Leonard Cheshire
Disability website.
11. Yvonne O’Donovan
1. ethnic minorities - the Asian Business Network (ABDN) helps
minority ethnic (ME) businesses to develop, by sharing best practice
and improving opportunities. The African Caribbean Business
Network (ACBN) helps African and Caribbean owned businesses in
the UK
2. young people - if you are aged between 18 and 30, the Prince's Trust
Business Programme may be able to help you with a low-interest
loan. Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards offer up to five £1,000
prizes a month to the most innovative and unusual ideas submitted
by young entrepreneurs aged 16-30 with new businesses in their first
12 months of trading
3. You can also consider applying for a Professional and Career
Development Loan to help improve your business skills before or
after starting up a business. This is available to anyone and is a
deferred repayment bank loan aimed at financing the training and
qualifications that will help individuals further their career or
business.
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