Picture the scene. Youâre working in the lab or office one afternoon. The sun is shining but youâre trapped inside, and so you are daydreaming. Then it hits you: a business idea that will take you away from your mundane job, where the tables are turned and you are nobodyâs employee. Oh, and it could make you pots of cash.
Unfortunately, thatâs often where your problems start. You may well have no clue how to make your great idea happen. Gareth Trainer of Newcastle Universityâs careers service meets people like this all the time, so advises you to turn to your university for help if youâre stuck. Visit the careers service or enterprise development department if there is one â itâs definitely worth the effort, he says. They will first help you establish who owns the intellectual property of the idea, and then you will need to do some soul-searching to decide what you want your role to be â do you want to go it alone, work as part of a business team, or would you rather just develop the idea enough to sell it on and take the money?
If you do decide to take the reins, the fun will really begin, as youâll need to build up a network of people who can help you assemble the business. This means attending business networking events and talking to as many people as possible. Here Trainerâs advice pulls no punches: âWeâve got a saying up here that is âshy bairns get nowtâ. So donât be afraid to ask for help, because youâre going to need it.â
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Youâll also need to get some financing. Creative thinking can help here, so look for sources such as local business people, university initiatives, business development programmes or even institutions like the Princeâs Trust. One new model of financial support is demonstrated by the Edinburgh Pre-Incubator Scheme (EPIS), which is joint-funded by the University of Edinburgh, the EU and Scottish Enterprise. To apply, all you need to do is send in a draft business plan. âItâs possible for someone to come here with nothing and we will provide them with everything,â says programme manager Adrian Smith. âWe give them their first capital, a base to operate from for a year, an academic host who provides resources, guidance and contacts, we help them develop their idea and we lend them a chief executive. The only thing we donât do is bring them breakfast in bed.â
Setting up your own business is always going to be tough, but with so much support on offer it is worth trying. At the very least you will build up lots of useful experience, and it will probably be more fun than sitting at your desk staring out of the window.
Careers â Find out how to make the most of your career in our comprehensive special report.
Taking a clean cut
Susi Olsen founded a company called Clear Process, which uses a new technology to separate carbon dioxide from other gases. This could be used to help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from a range of industrial processes. Two years ago she was awarded the top prize for Entrepreneurial Business of the Year at the UKâs first National Business Plan competition.
How did you get into business?
I didnât have enough money when I was doing my PhD, so I worked part-time as a research assistant at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. I was working on a project funded by Scottish Enterprise, and at the end was asked if I would like to take it further and commercialise the technology. I had always wanted to do work on commercialising something, whether it was from my PhD or something else, so I agreed to do it, they sent me to business school and then I set up the company.
What were the low points?
When I set up the business three years ago, I was the only person in it. But then I got a team together, and managing them became a challenge. Although itâs good to a have a lot of advice, with so many people around suddenly, I was getting too much, and there was so much in my head that sometimes I couldnât decide what I really wanted to do.
What about the highlights?
Winning the award. That was the highlight of my whole life, I think. It was a great surprise when they dragged me up to the microphone, and I didnât know what to say. You go through so many ups and downs starting a business, but this was a big up and they really keep you going.
Do you really have to eat, sleep and breathe your business to get it going?
Well Iâm definitely not like that, although I donât know if thatâs a good thing or a bad thing. The company doesnât affect my social life and in fact it sometimes helps because you end up going to business networking events and making new friends. I think you need to get that balance right otherwise you will go insane.
