1. AFTER three years or more of learning
new skills, meeting new people and
having freedom for the first time, the
idea of working a nine to five job can
seem a little boring to some graduates.
Ever since the start of the recession
in 2008, the number of graduates
leaving university and starting their own
businesses has been increasing.
After graduating from Solent, Zara
Clements, decided to start her own
video production company called
Creative Mac.
Having no experience in business,
Zara chose to speak to Solent
Entrepreneurs about how to go about
starting her business.
She said: “I liked the idea of being
in control of my work life balance
and of being able to make my own
decisions, but I never planned to start
my own business until I was made
redundant from my first job shortly after
graduating.”
Many students are left in a similar
situation and some struggle to find any
job at all upon graduating, leading them
to consider starting their own business.
Zara added: “I had a couple of chats
with Solent Entrepreneurs, then I had
a really good business advisor. I’m not
business minded so I couldn’t have
done it on my own! I learned a lot in a
short space of time!”
So you want to start your own
business, but like Zara you’re not
business minded, and to be quite
honest the world of management,
finance and marketing sounds
daunting? Well don’t worry because
you’re not alone.
In fact it would be amazing to
find anyone who wasn’t nervous
about setting up their first business
- especially a graduate fresh out of
university.
Fear not, as below are some tips to
get you ready for owning your very
own business and point you in the right
direction of where to go now you’ve got
your idea.
Starting your own business can
be a difficult process and taking the
first steps to setting it up may seem
daunting.
Zara said: “Get a good advisor, if
you’re not business minded. And
network! Networking is an incredible
tool for growing your business, and it’s
good fun too!”
At Solent there are a lot of business
minded people to speak to for advice.
As well as Solent Entrepreneurs, Solent
Creatives is a great place to start with
access to lots of companies in a variety
of industries, experience in helping
students start their own businesses and
funding for small businesses.
There are also several external online
resources useful for getting advice on
writing your business plan and learning
the skills to run your business.
The National Consortium of University
Entrepreneurs (NACUE) brings
together university entrepreneurship
societies. Its annual business pitching
“I liked
the idea
of being in
control”
Why not take the plunge and start up your own business? Our reporter Charlotte Winfield talks
to some solent graduates about their experiences of creating their own start-ups.
PERHAPS you’ve already got your heart
set on becoming a teacher or perhaps
you’ve come to the end of your degree and
are still looking at your options. If you love
working with children and get a thrill from
helping young people learn and understand
something new why not consider a career
in teaching? We’ve put together everything
you need to know about the different ways
of getting into teaching to help you get
started.
There are two different paths you can
choose to become a NQT (newly qualified
teacher). Either you can spend all of
your time learning directly in a school
(school direct) or you can learn primarily
at a university. Both pathways lead to
NQT status and most will reward you
with a PGCE (post graduate certificate in
education). Both routes last a year full-time
and provide you with the skills you need
to start your teaching career. It’s up to you
which way is best for you.
School direct course advantages:
- From day one you work in a school. This
gives you immediate, hands-on experience
throughout the whole year.
- You begin by observing lessons and
slowly build up the confidence to take part
in giving lessons yourself – you’re not
thrown into the deep end!
- You get an understanding of how to
organise a school day – making it easy to
get a routine together once you become a
NQT.
University lead course advantages:
- Good for people who want to ease
themselves into teaching – those who like
to learn the theory before putting it into
practice.
- This option still gives you plenty of hands
on experience in a classroom – at least 24
weeks!
- Great for people who enjoy learning in a
university environment and fancy another
year of uni life.
What you will need for both pathways:
- A degree (in a relevant subject if teaching
at secondary level*).
- At least a C grade at GCSE level in
maths and English (science too if teaching
primary).
- At least ten days work experience in
schools or relevant experience working
with children.
- You must have passed the literacy and
numeracy skills test (tests should be
booked after you have submitted your
teacher training application).
- Two referees (one needs to be academic).
*If your degree is not relevant to the
subject you want to teach, a year-long
subject knowledge enhancement course
(SKE) can be taken before you start your
teacher training course.
You’ll need to decide whether you want
to teach at a primary or secondary level
and what subject you want to teach if you
choose secondary. Once you’ve decided, all
available courses and entry requirements
can be viewed at www.ucas.com/teacher-
training. You will need to apply through
this website too. Depending on your degree
classification and the subject you want
to teach you can also apply for a tax-free
bursary to help you fund your training.
For more information on getting into
teaching go to www.education.gov.uk/get-
into-teaching. This website can also help
you to get work experience and helps you
through your application. Good luck!
CREATIVE MAC: Zara Clements bravely her own start-up business - and it paid off!
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CHANGING
Graduates mean
BUSINESScompetition and connections with
both students and enterprises
makes it a great port of call.
Shell LiveWire offers free
online business advice and
start-up grants for young
entrepreneurs. If you register,
you can also get free guides
to writing a business plan,
carrying out market research and
helpful videos from successful
businesses.
Start-up Britain is a
government-backed campaign.
It provides useful resources for
anyone looking to start their own
business.
GOV.UK, is another reliable
place to go for advice. The
extensive list of sections goes
from writing a business plan to
putting your idea into practice,
managing your finances and
advertising your service.
The National Centre for
Entrepreneurship in Education
runs various programmes and
activities to help students and
graduates start their businesses.
Make it Happen is a mentoring
programme for student and
graduate entrepreneurs to make
the idea of starting your business
at little less daunting.
But what about funding?
Starting your own business can
be an expensive process and
if you’re not fortunate enough
to have ample savings, you’re
probably worrying about how
you’re going to be able to afford
your dream business.
Well don’t be put off as there
are plenty of ways you can get
the funding to make your dream
a reality.
One way of funding your start-
up is to get a bank loan – they
are good if you’re in need of a
big loan as they are the ones
with the funds to lend out large
amounts of money. Be careful
though as interest rates can be
high, so be sure to shop around
for the best rate.
Another popular method for
young entrepreneurs is applying
for a start-up grant through
a variety of organisations,
including; Shell LiveWire; The
Prince’s Trust; local councils and
charities.
Other methods of funding
include getting an individual
investor or crowdfunding,
as well as a signing up to a
government-backed scheme or
loan - including Start Up Loans,
a government-backed initiative
that’s so far helped over 25,000
people.
There are a lot of very skilled
business advisors at Solent
Entrepreneurs and Solent
Creatives. They can give you the
personalised advice you need
when starting your own business
and will continue to support you
after you graduate – so don’t be
afraid to ask!
If you’re still considering
starting your own business after
graduation, or have now been
inspired to, then best of luck.
Those who
can, Teach
YOU’RE halfway through you second year
of college and your tutor says, “It’s time to
start doing your UCAS applications.” At
the time you think, “ah yeah, no biggy,”
but in reality it’s far bigger than that. You
are about to make the single biggest career
decision you have made in your life up to
that moment. “What do I like? What do
I think is fun? What makes good money?
What do my parents want me to do?”
These, plus dozens more questions fly
through your head. So you narrow it down,
you go on open days and eventually settle
on the course and the five universities that
you want to go to. After that there’s the hell
of A-level exams and results day. “Did I get
the results? Can I go to *insert name of the
university here*?”
After that you go through three years of
university and gain your degree. You’ve
made it. After graduating you are now
qualified to be a professional in the field of
your degree. Or are you?
After spending the past three years
studying the ins and outs of a topic that you
chose to study when you were 17, is it now
what you want to do for the rest of your
life? Would you like to pursue a career in
your chosen degree? A recent study by The
New College of Humanities, in London,
says that half of all graduates go into a
career that is not related to their degree.
The survey questioned 2,000 graduates
from across the country and also found that
96 per cent of those surveyed had switched
careers completely by the age of 24.
Of those surveyed 50 per cent chose their
degree with a specific career in mind, but
one in seven failed to find a job in their
desired field. When asked about swapping
professions one in three said that the
decision was due to financial reasons and
one in ten said that they had changed to
start up their own business.
Director of professional development
at New College of Humanities, Swatee
Jasoria, said of the findings: “With the
current economic climate and a number of
sectors destined for growth, the traditional
career path has evolved into more of a
long and winding road.” In a press release
published along side the report, she went
on to say: “Graduates need to become
adaptable and build a personal portfolio,
which increasingly takes them into
different roles and industries.”
So that poses the question, did you
receive enough support as a 17 year old
setting out on the firsts steps of your career
journey? George Gurr is film studies
graduate who, since graduating, has
gone in to the world of marketing. “My
course was enjoyable, it covered practical
and theoretical study of film. I wasn’t
just watching films. I chose uni because
I believed it would give me the best
opportunity to work in film production.
During my degree I found work experience
in live TV and Hollywood film production.
From these experiences I found that
it wasn’t the career for me, so when I
graduated I looked elsewhere.”
“I was certain I wanted to work in film
[before going] to university. I never sought
advice [when I was at school] I was kind of
stubborn and determined.”
“Personally I thought I was old enough
[at 17] to know what I wanted to do. But
people around me at uni, including people
on the course, I would say chose the course
just to go to uni and work it all out later.”
Nicola Crichton is a recent journalism
graduate from Southampton Solent who
now works as a water usage specialist with
Southern Water: “I enjoyed aspects of [my
course at university], but it wasn’t what I
was expecting.”
“After uni I decided I did not want to go
into journalism, because I felt it was a very
competitive industry, and in all honesty, I
didn’t feel I was passionate enough to want
it. The course definitely opened my eyes to
what life as a journalist would be like, but I
didn’t think it was for me after all.
“I did search and I’m still searching for
media/writing related careers, but I am
happy with the job I now have, and I am
progressing quite quickly with that at the
moment.”
“During my time at sixth form I had
regular 1-2-1s with my tutor to discuss
my future, but it was really about my
progression in my courses, and having my
personal statement proof read.
“I still felt unsure after leaving college.
There were career seminars though, which
discussed the range of course available at
uni, and uni open day trips, which were
helpful, and weekly tutorials to discuss how
everything was going, and thoughts about
uni/career ideas.”
These stories are echoed across the
country, with thousands of graduates every
year going in to work outside of their
degree field. However Labour has pledged
that every person leaving school will get
one to one careers advice so there may be
fewer people changing career paths.
Have a read of this Q&A with Matthew
George, a Business Development
Administrator. He’s got experience in
helping people get their foot in the door
of business and wants to share his advice
with budding entrepreneurs.
Q - What would your advice be to
someone looking to start their own
business?
A - “First of all you need to do market
research – look at who your competitors
are, any gaps in the market, work out the
pros and cons of your initial business
idea and see if it’s feasible. If you’re
confident that you’re on to something
then get your ideas down on paper and
make a business plan.”
Q - What should you have in your
business plan?
A - “Your business plan should
include your mission statement which
explains what you want to achieve
in your business, your target market,
competitors, promotions, marketing
plan and a price plan including expected
annual cash-flow, wages and any stock,
facilities or equipment you’ll need.”
Q - What’s the next stage?
A - “You obviously learn a lot of skills
whilst at university but people often
find they lack transferable business
management skills, so you need to work
out what skills you’re going to need in
order to run your specific business. For
instance, every business needs to be on
top of their cashflow - including taxes,
which is complicated if you’ve never
done business before. My advice for this
would be to do training, or if that’s not
possible, get plenty of finance advice
from a business advisor.”
Q - Where should you go for advice?
A - “Most universities have an
entrepreneurial society so it’s definitely
worth speaking to them. Before you
leave university make sure you’ve used
every possible resource and spoken
to anyone who may be able to help.
Business courses and advisors can get
quite expensive so use the facilities
available at university first.”
Q&A
Matthew
George Our reporter Fred Tongue talks to graduates who
had a change of heart after finishing their degrees
ADVICE: Matthew
PATHS