[boxby]

The PYBT is very good, and serves exactly this niche. Guaranteed it's a loan they offer more so than a grant (although grants are available) but surely this is good as it makes people really think about it as a business, instead of a short term project that they'll play at for a couple of months.

I used to be a mentor for PYSBT and the way that it assists, takes you through book-keeping, market research etc is really good. and if they knock you back for a grant or a loan it's not becuase they're trying to keep you down, but more than likely becuase you're barking up the wrong tree, or missed vital important considerations.

[HuggyBear]

Sandra,

Is the PYBT any different from the PT? Or just a fancier name?

[boxby]

The princes trust is about more than business, about opportunities all over, education, cultural, voluneering etc. In scotland it operates under a seperate banner - PSYBT which is simply about business. In England and wales, i think it's a sub division of the princes trust.

[danmaull]

As this thread has gone a bit dead recently, does anybody have any ideas that could help to try and solve some of the problems that have been posted in this thread?

[IP2]

One of the biggest barriers I hear generally from people who want to get into business before they leave school is money, or the need for money to start up.

I just want to turn that on it's head for a moment, because there is no magic fix to that when you have left school / University either. Infact for many the situation gets worse...the cost of rent or mortgages, rates, food bills, heating, car ownership, let alone a few luxuries eat up as much as people earn, very often more, and there are no great breaks for them to raise capital to fund starting a business.

Which is why so many people spend their entire lives stating they want to run a business but they can't.

Money in itself is not the magic ingredient that makes someone a business success at any age.

To become an Entrepreneur you have to apply the skills you plan to use to make yourself successful also to raising capital as you need it and no exactly how you will use it, what return you are going to get from it.

At any age it is not just the need to raise money, it is the need to convince others that you (the entrepreneur) have a solid plan, that you are committed to and are prepared to work at and make succeed.

There is money out there when there is faith in loaning it whatever the age.

[Andy Trish]

It really doesn't matter what age you are there is big money out there to be made.

I agree totally that so little help or guidance is given to young people in school to employ themselves. I got my first job at 12 and haven't stopped working since. it took me to 40 to go alone and now I'm flying, I just wish when I was 12 I followed my instincts instead of listening to my careers teacher.

I'm happy to help were I can.

please don't ever say to me you made the mistakes you make because of your age. we all make mistakes, its lack of being able to know everything or make the right decisions and that happens no matter how old you are.

we could do a dragons den.

[danmaull]

What do you mean as in a dragons den? at the moment im not just looking at getting money from other people, more of somewhere just to bounce ideas and share thoughts with someody who is a little bit more experienced.

[Andy Trish]

isn't that why people go to the mentors in dragons den? as well as money. I'd watch it a bit more carefully.

[danmaull]

They do, i would say that is a big thing about them getting the dragons on board, however the majority of people go onto the programe to try and win over the dragons in order to gain investment of money into their business ideas.

[James Smith]

You know what? I would disagree about younger startups and access to capital being a huge barrier.

Younger startups have one huge advance on older person who have a family to support in that they have almost zero outgoings if living at home which mean that they can run a businesses that makes precious little money in the first year or two without the need for funds to support their lifestyle - should they of course chose that sort of a lifestyle.

What i find is a barrier is the sad fact precious few people of the age 16-18 have any savings. This is very much a choice thing whatever anyone might say - no one forces you to make a purchase however little money you have got and there are cheaper alternatives to most things. I speak to quite a lot of younger startups and I don't quite know why this is - perhaps pressure of school work means less part time working or simply that they have never gotten into the habit of saving, and every penny given by Gran for Christmas or earned delivering newspapers is spent. I used to keep 10-20% back and had a small amount of savings at 18 which was originally supposed to be for a car but I didn't get one of those until i left uni. This sort of prudence seems to be an alien concept to many of the people I speak to.

If you have an entrepreneurial mindset I think you can always make money at any age, and so long as you don't fritter it away you can use that to invest in increasingly bigger and better things. I actually think with the boom in internet businesses and help from forums like this that its easier than ever before to make money from the bedroom, whereby in the 1970's or 1980's you simply couldn't have done it like that.

What does hold back the 16-18's however I find it s general lack of awareness of how business "works" having never worked in one! Its also very hard to manage people at a young age which is another barrier to growth and best learned on somone else's staff! Ie I do think a lot of benefit can be gained by working for somone else for at least a few years even if you have PT businesses running along side. Another barrier is basic "trade" skills, at 16-18 you don't tend to have too many saleable skills in the market place which in turn makes it hard to make headway. To do my job for example requires training which takes a minimum of 8 years all in all from undergrad to practicing certificate on the wall.

Anyway a few thoughts which I hope is helpful.

Regards,