How do you start in business? Let’s look at three well-known successful entrepreneurs.
• Alan Sugar started by selling car aerials out of the back of a van. Less than 20 years after starting Amstrad, he sold it for £125 million!
• Teenage Richard Branson started a student magazine, with a loan from his mum. That allowed him to begin the next business, and the next – he now has more than 200 companies.
• James Dyson spent over five years inventing in his garden shed –5,000 prototypes later invented the world’s first cyclonic, bagless vacuum cleaner.
So start small, work hard, reinvest – and then work hard some more!
If you’re still looking for that initial idea, here are some really hot topics to stimulate you budding billionaires:
Vegetables – Vegetarianism is highly fashionable right now. Now I love meat, but I am happy to admit that veg is healthy and more efficient to grow in terms of its energy usage. Everyone’s talking about it – what could you do to make money out of it?
Plastic – We all agree that plastic pollution is a problem, so what’s the answer? I reckon there are good business ideas in the answers to these questions: Could you find an alternative material to replace single-use plastic items? Could you invent a ‘plastic’ that is biodegradable? Could you educate people so they take advantage of the recycling facilities that already exist?
Smartphones – Let’s face it, we’re all addicted to our smartphones, yet many savvy consumers are becoming keen to decrease their dependence on them.
What could you do to help people reduce their reliance on screens? An app to monitor usage? Digital detox getaways?
