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Entrepreneurship in the North East

It’s Entrepreneurship Week on Bdaily. Here, Alastair Waite, board member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, writes about the culture of entrepreneurship in the North East.

Jobs for life leading to index-linked pensions are a thing of the past, a rose tinted memory of a region that relied, perhaps too much, on the public sector.

Moving forward, the North East will see a streamlined administration with private enterprise coming to the fore and an entrepreneurial zeal securing its future success.

The region is well placed with the Entrepreneurs’ Forum already driving hard and encouraging initiative, innovation and imagination.

To help this raw dynamism develop into well-founded business acumen, the North-East is blessed with established entrepreneurs whose mindset is to be nurturing for the benefit of everyone.

In the often cut-throat field of commerce it is all too easy to try and stifle emerging talent for fear it will compete and take our business.

But I am a strong believer in competition and more than happy to mentor because rivalry creates opportunity and stimulates success.

New ideas, new energy, new technology are what is needed to stimulate growth. But equally important is a steadying hand to steer burgeoning businesses around the most common pitfalls that can see them fold before they have barely begun.

Onyx Group has been in business for 20 years and was one of the founding figures of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum more than a decade ago.

I know that the expertise and support exists in this region to help companies in their formative years; the challenge is to find as many people as possible with that entrepreneurial flair, energy and creativity needed to flourish in this fascinating climate.

Statistics reveal that new firms setting up with mentors have a 70 per cent better chance of succeeding than those who go it alone, helping them overcome the inevitable dark days and setbacks that befall most companies, particularly in the first year of operation.

There is always a risk with business. The traditional channels have become blocked by an over-cautious financial sector, obsessed with safe investment opportunities offered by already successful growth companies.

Many budding entrepreneurs fall at this first obstacle; if the banks won’t lend to them, then what is the point?

Here, mentors can offer an invaluable insight into a host of alternative sources of finance; it could be a grant; it could be investment for equity; it could be preparing them for a successful pitch to venture capitalists or mortgage providers.

Generally, it will be a package including some or all of these elements. But what is needed is an accurate assessment of their exact financial needs depending on which stage their company has reached.

There is no need to give away too much equity, or too little, or borrow when the time isn’t right. But when the finance is needed it needs to be accessible quickly so the business can grow quickly.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum exists to help; its successful If We Can You Can campaign is a prime example of its positivity and the mentors are ready and available to share ideas in a non-threatening environment. All we need are the fledgling entrepreneurs prepared to have a go.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Entrepreneurs Forum .