How Upcoming Entrepreneurs and New Businesses Can Be Helped in Ireland
Many people are struggling to break even in the entrepreneurship world. The discouragement that comes from not making much progress and the struggles that upcoming entrepreneurs face is what makes most of them give up. If you listen to the horror tales that some entrepreneurs tell, you will realise that most of them could do with some help. There are many things that initiatives, institutions, and organisations can do to help entrepreneurs and people who are venturing into new business. They include the following.
Training
One of the most important needs for entrepreneurs and people who are getting into a new business is training. They need to know ways to run business, including the basics such as bookkeeping, how to hire and work with the right people, how to write proposals to get grants and other information that will keep them informed about ways that they can grow. The training can be held either during a workshop, or it can be through virtual learning on online courses.
Access to Loans and Grants
There are institutions such as banks and microfinance companies that can offer loans to entrepreneurs and people who are in new businesses. These loans should come with reasonable interest so that they do not get overwhelmed by the loan payment even before they start out in the business. Organisations should also consider giving grants, especially to vulnerable groups such as the youth. These should come with some basic training on how to spend the money they are getting, and what they should prioritise on.
Mentorship/Professional Guidance
Some people have done well in business and have become household names when it comes to how businesses are managed. These people should consider volunteering to mentor entrepreneurs. Mentorship is a process where one is professionally guided and nudged towards success. The mentorship could be in the form of regular meetings where the mentor introduces the mentee to concepts that could work for their business. It also means introducing them to other people who could help them reach their goals. There are different mentors who even allow their mentees to visit them at their place of business and get a hands-on experience on how managing business works.
Giving Them a Location
When entrepreneurs and new businesses are just starting out, one of their biggest challenges is always on where they will be operating. Overhead costs like paying rent, getting internet, and other expenses can be very overwhelming. To cushion them from these costs, organisations, and institutions that have extra space should consider donating part of their area to the entrepreneurs. This removes the burden that is associated with starting up an office.
Donations
The other way to help entrepreneurs and businesses that are just coming up is by giving them donations. If an institution has things like computers, printers, and other things that they no longer use, they can provide them as part of a gift to the entrepreneurs. This goes a long way in cutting down the cost of things they would have had to buy. Institutions should, however, avoid the temptation to donate items that are not functions, such as broken electronics, as these will only end up stressing the entrepreneurs when they have to spend more money to repair them. The donations should only be of things that can actually be used.