Risking It All? – Mitigate the Risk With Good, Free Business Advice

‘Green’ entrepreneurs are followed through the first year of their business by a business guru who watches their trials and tribulations from the side lines.

In the first episode two chums, with little experience working behind a bar at some point in their past, risk it all by giving up their well paid jobs to open a trendy bar in a town which appears to be populated by an alarming number of over 70’s.

Sinking all their money – and considerable amounts of other people’s money into the venture – they soon realise that their ‘head above water’ target of making £5,600 each week is not achievable if the bar is attracting numbers of punters in single figures. The show follows their first twelve months trading which includes them commissioning an interior neither of them likes, having a flood which closes them for many weeks and admitting that they have about ten minutes prior experience behind a bar between them.

Millionaire presenter Martin Webb steps in to try to plug the gaps in what appears to be a sinking ship and with a £500 investment in marketing fills the bar for the first time ever.

But according to Joyce Duncan, director of operations, of Enterprise North East, which is responsible for helping more than 900 fledgling business get going each year, the advice given was too little too late.

"These programmes are undoubtedly great viewing, but many of the problems the participating businesses face could be eliminated or alleviated if they took advantage of the wealth of free support that exists for new start businesses."

With a track record of assisting a staggering 3 businesses to start each day in the north east of Scotland, the business advisors at Enterprise are on hand to assist with all sorts of advice for would be entrepreneurs.

Joyce has some advice for anyone considering starting a business of any kind.

Researching your market is vital according to Joyce. "Just because you think there will be a market for your business idea won’t guarantee you a rosy future. You should do structured research on any new product or initiative and this should include the location of your business, how people will access you etc. An Enterprise business advisor can assist with this process. People opening bars and restaurants can select premises based on what they can afford, rather than looking at footfall and the usage of the area at different time of the day and night. This leads to trading difficulties from day one. Taking advice on this at the start can save money – and possibly the whole business – at a later date.

Unfortunately, being a regular customer in bars and restaurants does not necessarily qualify you for the role of running one! Enterprise Business Advisors recommend that you get some experience under your belt before you go into any line of business.

"You have to understand all aspects of your business," comments Joyce. "In the first programme the two businessmen even admitted that they had never tasted a bloody mary and had no notion of rubbing a lemon or a lime around a glass when making a G & T. And it’s not just would be bar owners who should get experience under their belt."

Most businesses will not be overnight successes, and early enthusiasm which keeps energy levels high can dip after months of long hours. Good planning, projecting and evaluating performance can help to benchmark progress. Professional business advisors can help with these aspects of the business. Involvement with ‘Front of house’ activities may seem to be keeping the business moving forwards but you have to allow time for actually ‘running’ the business.

If you go into business with a partner you should be very clear on what you are aiming for and also what motivates you. In the initial programme, almost a year in, one of the partners announced that he wasn’t in business to make money but for the thrill of it. Formal planning and reporting will keep communication channels open. Many good friends have started out in business together only to end up barely on speaking terms. Regardless of how friendly you are on day one, it is vital to have a partnership agreement in place.