How To Be A Successful UK Entrepreneur

How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

Never started a business? In the UK Business Link is loaded with great advice for how to get a business idea off the ground, and what tax, corporation and Companies House requirements are. One of the most interesting aspects, is that as a self-employed business owner, or sole trader, you have to pay National Insurance at roughly the rate of £20 per month.

Worked in a few small UK businesses? Recognise that if you have contributed to the bottom line and this is how you got an idea about business, you have been involved with intrapreneurship - or fostering an entrepreneurial culture within an organisation. Entrepreneurial jobs might sound like a contradiction in terms, but if you want to learn from the big international players, one of the best places to look is jobs in Google - the ultimate intrapreneurship group based in Milton Keynes UK.

Can freelance writing be the start of a UK business?

If one of your top new year resolutions is to start your own business in the arts stream, you need to look to famous entrepreneurs in that industry. I suggest starting your search for like minded professionals at the Business Startup Exhibition held each May in London. I went last year and tickets are free.

You could also consider looking at Hubpages and some excellent advice is available if you are in your first year on Hubpages regarding linking sites together. If you want to become an authopreneur you need to treat your book or writing as a business or else you have on your hands a very expensive hobby. With UK universities offering courses such as MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, there are moves afoot to harness art and big money - universities think it is worth putting on a course.

Do I need university training to excel at future entrepreneurship? Not strictly. There are many examples of people managing a business without formal training - think Dragon's Den. There's a lot of talk about entrepreneurs being rebels and dyslexics, however, a word of warning, these were obstacles to be overcome, not permanently embraced, and you can bet that these famous entrepreneurs have had some further training now they run large successful companies.

What is the key to being a successful entrepreneur in the UK? Knowing the best business to get into. Take into account your interests and passion, your knowledge base, your available resources and your desire. There's a lot of money to be made if you line up passion with sensible research. If you are at the stage where the plan's all written, the idea for business is firm, and you need investment you might want to try pitching to The Midas Touch angel investment team.

Is good knowledge of IT important to an entrepreneurial business? Yes. When I see universities putting on business education courses; combining entrepreneurship in IT with units outlining how valuable IT is at the business start up phase; it is impossible to ignore the trends. It is the reason why sites such as Elance and Odesk are doing so well. They offer web programming services from freelance IT specialists. See the recommended reading list provided for more on Entrepreneurship in IT.

Is there a difference between being a UK entrepreneur as opposed to a US entrepreneur? Yes. Your country of origin, be it UK or USA will affect your style of entrepreneurship. On the UK Apprentice, Your Fired, a guest panellist put it thus; (I'll loosely paraphrase this), "... you got fired because you were a girl who knew she was really good at selling, had the guts to lead the group and the strength to motivate the sales. In the UK our business approach to successful entrepreneurship is more like - I'm a bit rubbish at all of this - but I'll give it a go!"