You can have ANYTHING you want in life*
*If you're willing to pay the price Most people try and get the rewards before they put in the effort. You have to put the work in to get the results. #NoZeroDays
0 Comments
Wherever you're at with your Business. Whether you've got some ideas or maybe you've already started your Business and you need to take the next step,
We all take the Entrepreneur's Journey. Simon Paine demonstrates in this video filmed live at a PopUp Business School Workshop. Business is about making money.
But that shouldn't be the only reason, you've got to love what you're doing. Business takes time, if you're not enjoying what you're doing then the Business is not going to be successful. That's our most important principle: Make Money Doing What You Love. Where do you get the cash to get going?
Maybe, that's not the question to ask.. There are so many more interesting, exciting and creative ways to start your business than borrowing money. You don't want to start your Business in debt, you want to start in profit. Traditional Business Support will tell you to begin with a Business Plan.
We at The PopUp Business School think that is a massive waste of time. Business Plans are traditionally used to get funding. But what if you start your Business with no money? Go out, make sales and find what your customers want before you even consider a Business Plan. Err wrong actually... This is one of the biggest myths about starting a small business and we're going to smash it down right now! It's ok you're not the only person who thinks this! It's actually what we've always been told and brought up to know! Around one third of all the people we meet at the PopUp Business School have lack of cash as their biggest barrier stopping them from getting started. Just imagine... If we blindfolded some of the biggest names in business, threw them in the back of a transit van, drove them to a random city and then threw them out onto the street. Take away their CASH, CREDIT CARDS and SMARTPHONE. Do you think they could make money? Damn right they could. Once they got over the shock of no wifi, obviously... (We actually think we should do this - it sounds like great fun.) All this stuff we've been taught over time is wrong: you DO NOT need money to start a business! Here's what we do know... We do know that sometimes you need a bit of money to get going. There's things like equipment, some products, maybe transportation, marketing stuff, possibly a phone or computer... We can get around that! Here's what NOT to do: do not take a loan. The traditional approach to starting a business is dead. Forget it. You don't need a business plan and you definitely don't need funding. The FISRT thing you need to do is watch this video:
We started 2017 at the PopUp Business School the same way we start every year, by taking ourselves away for a few days to reflect on the year that's been and to plan what we want for the business in the coming year. It's become a 3 day tradition which is invaluable to us and is something we'd suggest anyone in business should consider each year. It's an opportunity for the whole team to get involved and have a say in the future of the business, share things they've learned and shoot each other with Nerf guns, obviously.
It was an intense 3 days, but incredibly worthwhile and rewarding as we look to how we're going to shape the business in 2017, how we're going to grow as a group and what we want to do more of as individuals. We all answer a set of questions before setting off to a hotel for a few days, the same questions that Alan shared with you in our 'Reviewing Your Year In Business' video which you can find on the #DailyPopUp or on our YouTube channel. They're a great starting point for a business review. So what was the outcome of our 3 day review? Well, we can't go into too much detail, but safe to say that PopUp is only going to keep getting bigger and better. We want to do more, help more people and start more businesses in our own unique way and continue to have a lot of fun doing it. We start 2017 with a few events in the pipeline. The end of January sees us return to Kent for a full 2 week PopUp event in Swale, Sittingbourne. We've run smaller events in Kent, but we're really looking forward to spending a whole 2 weeks doing what we do. February sees us delivering a 2 week event in Bolton, where we want to get people started and trading whilst we're there. We're also returning to both Thamesmead and Newport for 2 week events in February. We loved the energy and enthusiasm in both places last year and can't wait to see how those of you we met before have got on and looking forward to seeing plenty of new faces too. In March we head to Dover, a third event in Reading and 2 weeks in Leeds! So we're busy and already loving every minute of 2017. But where could we PopUp next? We're always looking to help more people, so if you'd like us to come to your town or know someone we should be talking to, to make it happen then please get in touch
Download the file below to access the Year in Review questions. Happy New Year!
For the next two weeks we are working with our partners at Microsoft UK to combine our unique approach to business startup advice, together with their unique and award-winning tablet and laptop Surface range. The team at Microsoft have transformed two ordinary shopping units in Brent Cross Shopping Centre and Bristol’s Cabot Circus Shopping Centre into Surface Dream Emporiums, where every great business idea starts with a doodle, complete with demonstration stations and tech experts.
Together, we’re helping mobile professionals, aspiring artists, photographers, musicians and people wanting to make their business idea a reality, get the advice and help they need to get going for free. We’ve even been using Microsoft’s tech ourselves all week and will be incredibly reluctant to hand it back when the two weeks are over! We’re also making sure that the attendees at our event can make the most of the equipment on offer. For example, in Brent Cross we have a fine artist from the former Yugoslavia called Sonya Radan, who is famous in her homeland for her bold and striking portraiture. However, in the UK she is much less well-known and looking for advice and help on how to increase exposure. Like many of the people we meet on our courses, Sonya is not particularly fond of computers and has very little experience of the online world. Yesterday we taught Sonya and our other attendees how to build a website for free. Today, we showed her how to use social media to drive traffic to her website, how to find customers online and how to find conversations with other artists that she could get involved in and add value to. This afternoon, Sonya has completely taken the plunge as we challenged her to create a unique artwork digitally on the Microsoft Surface Book. Overcoming her initial fear, she was using the device in no-time, asking about other features and how to use it to create specific effects. With help from the in-store tech demonstrators, she created several artworks in a matter of minutes. You can see a livestream of her busy creating on our Facebook page. She took the plunge, she faced her fears and has proved to herself that technology is good for her business. In Bristol one of our attendees is Fenella, a health coach turned power lifter who wants to help mobile business professionals stay healthy during their busy lives. She’s spent some time trying to decide what her business should be and what feels right to her, having tried beauty, medicine and being a makeup artist before realising that her passion was for health and wellbeing. We have seen this week how Microsoft’s tablets and adaptable Surface laptops can be used by budding entrepreneurs and it occurred to us that for Fenella’s business, visiting other professionals where they work, at their homes or at local parks, these devices would be ideal for managing her client database, keeping track of appointments, building her website and even recording and sharing video content of workouts for prospective clients. It’s increasingly clear that if you have a vision for your business there are mobile solutions to help you manage it and put what you learn on our courses into practice. We’re looking forward to helping more of our participants get going, acclimatising them to digital technology and making their businesses a success. Together with Microsoft we have a massive opportunity in both Brent Cross and Bristol to make a difference. Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to see how we get on.
|
Make money doing what you love.
Don't Miss out!Sign up to our content emails and upcoming event alerts to stay in the loop!
Categories
All
|