Five reasons to start your own small business...

With unemployment rates set to soar around the world, more and more Australians are considering opening their own small business. At any time, the attractions of ‘being your own boss’ can be intoxicating, but with such uncertainty around the employment market, there might be no better time than now to take the leap.

Here are six key points to consider…

Income Potential

Wages have been largely stagnant for some years now in Australia and there seems very little hope of improvement on the horizon. With such limited organic growth available to workers, the opportunity costs involved in a move into a small business are probably lower than ever. Running your own business you have unlimited earning potential, with few of the frustrations of wage negotiations, or operating within established corporate salary structures or set performance evaluations. There is something intoxicating about a role in which you are genuinely ‘paid what you are worth’, and this is the key motivator given by many who start their own business

Turning a Passion into Profit

Starting your own business allows you to make a living doing something that you genuinely love. Many students at Lexis Training are building the business skills to take a hobby into the marketplace. The idea that ‘do what you love, and you’ll never spend a day at work’ is never more true than when you are able to completely define the parameters of your own job.

“It sounds silly when I say it out loud, but I really just wanted to share my story. I’d been selling my product at markets and online for years, but I never felt that I had what it took to go to into shops or online. But I realised that people were genuinely interested in my background, and the story behind my sauces. By moving online, I can reach people all over Australia and increasingly all over the world. Please don’t misunderstand – people are buying a sauce to put on their food….but it’s the story behind it that gets their interest. The truth is, I’d make these sauces for free. The idea that someone will pay me for them still feels a bit unreal”

Amy, 28, Noosa Heads, QLD

Certificate IV New Small Business Graduate and hot sauce entrepreneur

That Lightbulb Moment

We’ve all been there, with that moment of frustration ( ‘I could do this so much BETTER!’) or that flash of inspiration (‘I can’t believe that no one has thought of this before!’). Many small businesses are born from these beginnings, whether it’s working for a boss who just never quite gets it, or when that better mousetrap design comes to you at 4am.

Captain of the Ship

So much of running your own business is a question of self-belief, and of having the confidence in your skills and training. The opportunity to navigate your own way through stormy seas can be a key motivator for those setting out in their new business, as can be the very real thrill you get when you realise that ‘your way’ was the right one.

“It always amused me to see the people in my company who constantly criticised management, but never had the guts to go out and do it better…until my wife pointed out that I was just as bad as the rest of them. Funnily enough, that was the moment I realised that my future was going out on my own, and it’s a decision that I’ve never regretted (at least after the first year or two!).

Grant, 41, Fremantle, WA.

Certificate IV New Small Business and Diploma of Leadership and Management Graduate and Electrical Contractor

New Lifestyle

Starting a new business can be a way to move on from the mundane ‘nine to five’ lifestyle, and into something more flexible, especially where many jobs don’t allow for the flexibility required for families. Particularly at a time where online businesses provide access to a ‘log on, log off’ model, businesses can increasingly be built around your lifestyle, rather than the other way round.

And one good reason why not….

You Haven't Done the Prep

Running your own business is a very good way to grow rich slowly….or to go broke overnight! The all-very-real statistic that should make every aspiring entrepreneur stop and think is this one…30% of Australian small businesses won’t survive the first year. The reasons for this are many and varied. Many failed business owners report that they never really understood the importance of cashflow to their operations, and fell over attempting to grow too quickly. Others are held back by a lack of knowledge, or a failure to appreciate the basics of marketing and promotion. A key point, often reached in the first year, is where staff are employed for the first time, and this too carries some serious pitfalls.

The one piece of consistent feedback from failed business owners is ‘I wish I’d done the prep’ – investing in yourself before investing in business can be the key difference between success and failure.

And now the plug

Lexis Training’s BSB42618 Certificate IV in New Small Business is a Nationally Recognised Training program designed to provide the Skill-Up you need to Set Up! Taught by trainers who’ve ‘been there, and done that’, and covering critical areas such as sourcing finance, web skills, social media marketing, basic finance and introductory business law, the Certificate IV NSB is all about ensuring that you have the skills to minimise the first year risks….and flourish. If you’d like to hear more, contact the team at Lexis Training.