Going it alone

Perhaps you have had those brief moments of brilliance, realising what you think is a fantastic idea for a business.

I certainly have, normally based upon the theory that surely I can do better than whoever has just done a shoddy job for me.

But, unlike Greg, 22 and Patrick, 23, University of Birmingham graduates and successful letting agents for 18 months and counting, my ideas have never come to fruition. I went to speak with the purple frog property
business partners to find out how they have made their ideas a reality.

"Start with something you know," advises Greg.

If you've had a problem, think of a way in which it could be solved.

Next, think of whether that solution is a possible business idea.

For this, they advise asking as many people as possible what they think of the idea. As well as asking friends and family, they also researched their business formally.

"We did quite extensive market research - we surveyed quite a few students in order to get general feedback," Greg says.

Patrick and Greg may have had something of an advantage over many budding businessmen and women, as they were able to write the proposal for their business as a part of the entrepreneurship module on their business course.

Go for it! This really is the time at which you have the least responsibilities.

Greg, co-founder of purple frog

"A guest speaker gave a lecture and said well, why don't you do it, you've got nothing to lose - or, less to lose now than any other time in your life, when you might have a mortgage or family," explains Patrick. "We could do it now and get funding comparatively easily, so we thought we'd take the risk."

A concern for most graduates interested in starting their own business is where the financial backing will come from, but many universities as well as private organisations now offer grants to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Greg and Patrick impressed the judges of the grants committee of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre (EIC) in their bid for success.

As applicants submit proposals per person, not per project, they were both able to apply for funding to the EIC - and both were successful.

Not only does the organization give money to would-be-entrepreneurs, but their Speed programme, run across West Midlands universities and offering mentoring and training, aims to "help students with a sound business idea take the first steps towards running a real business."

Obviously it is preferable for the money to be risked on a new business - many of which fail within a year - to be 'free' grant money, rather than loans taken from a bank or relative.

The purple frog founders felt this way too. Patrick says: "we really didn't want to turn to parents or friends to start with", "...As we didn't really want to risk anyone else's money," Greg finishes.

So, did the guys have any further advice for graduates wishing to start their own business? "Go for it!" they chimed. "This really is the time at which you have the least responsibilities," said Greg, "and you only stand to gain if you're willing to risk something in the first place."