Starting your own Business

Support Available

If you would like to work for yourself either now or sometime in the future there is a whole range of support available to you.

Whether you would like to be a freelancer, start your own business, become self- employed or just have an idea for a product or service you’d like to explore further, help is at hand.

Services you can access include :

One to one meetings with Ruth Rowe,Bridgend College’s entrepreneurship officer

– Business advice and mentoring from Big Ideas Wales or Business Wales advisers

– Free workshops and seminars at a wide variety of locations including Bridgend College campuses

– Free online workshops

– Free annual business bootcamp

So please, get in touch to book an informal chat with Ruth to find out more.

Entrepreneurial Skills

If you would like to work for yourself you will need a wide range of transferable skills in addition to the vocational skills you are developing on your course.

The ACRO model was introduced as a result of research conducted by the Welsh Government that identified the characteristics commonly displayed by successful entrepreneurs.

This considered the everyday business tasks and underlying skills and attitudes of people who work for themselves or start their own businesses.

The model breaks the characteristics down into four key dimensions and is summed up by the acronym ACRO – this covers all the important aspects of entrepreneurial behaviour that are essential for success.

If you would like to work for yourself you will need a wide range of transferable skills in addition to the vocational skills you are developing on your course.

The ACRO model was introduced as a result of research conducted by the Welsh Government that identified the characteristics commonly displayed by successful entrepreneurs.

This considered the everyday business tasks and underlying skills and attitudes of people who work for themselves or start their own businesses.

Attitude

If you want to succeed at anything in life, having the right attitude is vital. This dimension is about understanding yourself, your motivations and how to achieve your goals.

Self knowledge, belief and confidence
Motivation
Aspiration
Determination
Competitiveness

Creativity

You don’t need to be a genius to be creative. It is about the ability to generate fresh ideas, solve problems and spot new opportunities

Problem solving
Lateral thinking / ideas generation
Spotting and creating opportunities
Innovation

Relationships

It’s all about people, the ability to communicate effectively, expressing your own views and ideas, appreciating others’ viewpoint and working co-operatively

Working with others
Managing difficult situations
Negotiation, persuasion and influence
Presentation
Communication

Organisation

Making informed decisions and fulfilling your objectives by planning and managing situations, resources and risk

Planning
Managing resources
Decision making
Research and understanding the environment
Managing risk
Vision and goal setting

These entrepreneurial skills are relevant for all career choices as its about developing a positive and proactive approach to whatever you do in life, whether it is setting up a business, working for someone else or doing something in the community.

It is about having the confidence to come up with ideas, the initiative and drive to carry them through. It enables young people to be positive, proactive and successful in their approach to life and work.

Useful Links

Enterprise Catalyst

Find out how enterprising you are by completing this fun online questionnaire. It should take less than fifteen minutes and the results will help you identify your strengths and be a great addition to your CV.

https://www.enterprisecatalyst.co.uk/

Big Ideas Wales

If you are aged 16-25 all the information you need about the support available to you to bring your business idea to life can be found here.

https://businesswales.gov.wales/bigideas/

Business Wales

If you are aged over 25 this site will give you access to all the information and support you will need to start a business.

https://businesswales.gov.wales

Newsletters Registration

Want to find out more about enterprise at Bridgend College?

Register to our email newsletter to keep up-to-date with all the exciting activities happening around the college this academic year.

Contact Us

We aim to help you explore career opportunities to achieve, progress and gain meaningful paid employment.

Have any questions or need more information?

Fill in the form or call the team:
01656 302 302