IQ-Magazine-Issue-11

IQ employment
In 2013, a record number of businesses were launched in the UK and, this year, that
record looks set to be broken again. The fact is that every one of those new ventures will be
sharing the same challenges and feeling the same frustrations.
Starting a business can be an extraordinarily exciting, yet
daunting, experience. Whether you realise it or not, the
need for peer to peer support is greater than ever, and I
can safely say that Cambridge Business Lounge would
not have survived its first year if we hadn’t built a strong
network first. Here’s a story to prove my point…
One morning, a boy was playing in his sandbox with
his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail and a shiny,
red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and
tunnels, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the
sandbox and, with a little bit of a struggle, he pushed
and nudged the large rock across the sandbox with his
feet. However, when the boy got the rock to the edge
of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and
over the wall.
Determined, the boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but
every time he thought he had made some progress, the
rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox.
All this time the boy’s father watched from his living
room window as the drama unfolded and, at the moment
his tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the
sandbox.
Gently, but firmly, the father said, “Son, why didn’t you
use all the strength that you had available?” Defeated,
the boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all
the strength that I had!”
“No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use
all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.” And, with
that, the father reached down, picked up the rock and
removed it from the sandbox.
You have probably started a business because you’ve
found a gap in the market for a new product or service.
Maybe you’re turning a hobby into a business or looking
to provide an existing service in a unique or more
customer-focused way. Whatever your reason, I have
absolutely no doubt that you are great at what you do
and that you are incredibly passionate about the product
or service that you have started to offer or are about to
launch.
What aren’t you good at: Marketing? Bookkeeping?
Sales? Also, what is it that you don’t know you need to
know about running a new business? In short, what is
stopping you from getting your rock over the wall?
I know that many don’t ask for help because pride gets in
the way, or they don’t know who to ask outside of calling
traditional businesses like accountants or solicitors.
Another reason for not asking may be because a mental
cry for help is closely followed by a thought of “but I
wonder what it will cost me.” Of course, we can only ask
for help if we know we need help with and that rarely
comes ahead of time. Whatever support you need to
start your business and whenever you need it, there is a
plethora of support available.
In 2013, a record number of businesses were launched in
the UK and, this year, that record looks set to be broken
again. The fact is that every one of those new ventures
will be sharing the same challenges and feeling the same
frustrations.
So, get out there to networking events and co-working
spaces; find other start-up businesses and use social
media (you can start with @edagoodman on twitter).
Whatever your industry, whatever your experience, you’ll
be amazed how quickly your rock is removed and how
much it will help your business to grow.
As Helen Keller once wrote: ”Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much.”
More Information
www.cambridgebusinesslounge.com
issue 11 | page 29