The Graduate Entrepreneur

Starting your own business – who hasn’t thought about it? You get to be your own boss, choose what hours you work and best of all, every penny that you earn goes straight into your own pocket. It’s a wonderful idea. It just doesn’t seem particularly realistic, does it? Or at least that is the conclusion some graduates are reluctantly arriving at.

Obtaining a degree has become an increasingly costly process, with debts of up to £13,000 it is unsurprising that few of today's graduates feel in a position to risk starting their own business. This trend has not gone unnoticed and as a result of Government initiatives to grow entrepreneurship, there has never been a better time to contemplate starting your own business. On the whole, the UK's record for business development is good - the relative number of entrepreneurial ventures embarked upon in the UK exceeds that of other major EU economies and there are currently approximately 3,500 new businesses being created every week.

However, Government policy makers still feel that the potential of entrepreneurial graduates (and their contribution to the economy) is not yet fully realised. Popular entrepreneurial culture has been growing steadily in Britain for several years now spurred on by the success of TV shows such as The Apprentice and The Dragon's Den. Half the schools in the country offer pupils at some form of enterprise education and many of the vibrant and innovative new projects around enterprise are proving a hit. Last November thousands of schoolchildren were given the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial potential and develop their creative business acumen, by taking part in the nation-wide Enterprise Week scheme - including the Enterprise Olympics, in which British youngsters competed against 17 other countries online. But government efforts have not been restricted to laying down the foundations for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow - practical measures are also being introduced to get budding business men and women started today.

Graduates already have access to the Small loans guarantee scheme, which underwrites lending to small and medium sized companies of up to £250,000, but foremost in the Government's arsenal of innovation is the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), which aims to offer a range of support services to graduates wishing to start up their own businesses. The hope being that they will start businesses within five to ten years of leaving University, rather than the current average of fifteen. Within the next four years, the NCGE aims to double the percentage of graduates aspiring to become self-employed from 15 to 30%. To achieve this it is offering access to a number of new resources, regional rallies and investment readiness programmes specifically designed for graduates and an online system to nurture business interests and develop.

The NCGE's Flying Start programme has already been met with enthusiasm The scheme is proving influential in motivating would-be entrepreneurs, as, rather than just providing information, it encourages graduates taking part in the program to make a pledge to take the appropriate next step in advancing their business proposal, as well as offering a valuable funding database – detailing a variety of different means of obtaining financial backing for business ventures. Combined with the NCGE website, which already offers prospective entrepreneurs access to its research community - allowing them to locate useful information and communicate with other members - and which is currently setting up UK Geo, a bibliographic database which will list reports, studies, research and other publications relevant to business development, these resources ensure that foundling businesses have never been better supported. And it's not just the Government who identify the potential demonstrated by graduates choosing to make there own way in the world.

Many private companies and public institutions are keen to embrace industrious ventures and they offer additional support services to guide would-be business people taking those first tentative steps. Shell's Livewire program is one example that demonstrates just how seriously big business is taking fledgling companies, and is invaluable in providing practical, sensible advice to help organise ideas, write business plans, gain funding and find premises for new businesses, as well as hosting the Young Business Start Up Awards – rewarding successful ventures with prizes totalling over £200,000. All of these facilities and avenues of support make young business people better equipped than ever to take control of their own future. They are comprehensive, informative and extremely valuable resources to help walk you towards your goal, but nonetheless, going it alone remains a risky business as those who got burnt in the dotcom-boom and bust would attest. Starting your own business remains an inexact science and many companies struggle or fail in the first three years. But therein lies the challenge.

Where would we be if there weren't individuals amongst who were occasionally willing to take a gamble, play the odds - in the hope that they might realise a dream? The risks are real, and shouldn't be underestimated, but the opportunities are there - if you have the vision, the determination and the drive, the rewards could be enormous.