Self Help for Self Employment

Taking charge of your working life to create the career you want never happens in a vacuum. New information, new skills and a fresh approach are often needed.

Knowing where to go to find that information can be a challenge, especially if the dream tantalizing you has entrepreneurial overtones.

Many new businesses fail from lack of planning and market research, not to mention insufficient funding. And yet, interest in entrepreneurial careers has blossomed over the past decade or so, a direct result of shifting employment opportunities in an unsettled economy. Well over two million Canadian workers - or about one in seven - are self-employed now; about half operate home-based businesses.

Harry worries whether he has what it takes to be fully independent. "Is it advisable for someone with a small percentage of entrepreneurial ability to pursue some form of self-employment?" he asks.

Helen writes: "I'm considering setting up a small business. Can you recommend a website or book for someone like me who's nervous about making the final decision. I've never had my own business and feel I would be less nervous and more confident if I knew everything I needed to consider or do before starting that business."

Miller is confused about how to build the needed skills. He writes: "I'm currently a freelance audio engineer. ... After reading your article, I felt that I might be able to profit more within this industry and that there are entrepreneurial skills that I could develop and make the business work for me. I guess I'm just looking for a little guidance."

Miller is right. Entrepreneurial skills can be developed, despite a perception that people are born with such abilities.

It is true that successful entrepreneurs (freelancers and consultants included) tend to share certain qualities. They are confident, self-motivated, hardworking and committed to learning. Above all, they're tenacious and persistent, able to absorb failures and carry on. However, some entrepreneurial skills, such as crafting a business plan, marketing and negotiating can be learned. And once the learning begins, overall confidence tends to spike.

The good news is that there's more information available now for people interested in self-employment than ever before, much of it on the Internet. Information, however, is just part of the investigation process. Using the information strategically to find skills training and start-up help is what taking charge is all about.

The process begins in deciding whether you're up to the challenge, or as Harry puts it, whether someone with a small amount of entrepreneurial ability should even consider such work.

The federal government, as part of its policy to provide Canadians with information online, has created an online booklet that uses simple, straightforward language to walk people through the entrepreneurial decision and planning process. It's called Minding Your Own Business and you'll find it on the Human Resources Skills Development Canada website http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/hrp/career_awareness/products/minding/minding1.shtml.

Interest in entrepreneurial careers tends to be high among young people. The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education has developed a website, http://www.mvp.cfee.org/, to help youth consider this career option.

To gain a general sense of the entrepreneurial or self-employment resources available in your area, use a major Internet search engine, enter the name of your community followed by the words "entrepreneurial training." For example: Oshawa entrepreneurial training.

Not everything that pops up will be relevant. Wend your way through the various websites, taking note of courses and programs and the organizations offering them. Some sites will provide names and phone numbers, allowing you to continue your research over the phone.

Toronto residents can take advantage of the courses and services available through the Toronto Business Development Centre. A link to "entrepreneurial training programs" at the bottom of the centre's home page (http://www.tbdc.com/) will take you to a menu of seminars on the complexities of setting up and running a small business.

Offered to the general public (at a reasonable cost), these seminars introduce some of the key considerations in the decision-making process and a range of "how-to" information. To review the seminars, their dates, times and fees, go to http://www.tbdc.com/business/seminars.asp.

If you're working, but thinking about leaping on to the self employment bandwagon, Enterprise Toronto, sponsored by Toronto Economic Development, offers 30 hours of entrepreneurial training in the evenings over five weeks. To learn more about the Up & Running Biz Launch Program (cost is $495), go to http://www.enterprisetoronto.com and follow the ET Training link.

Entrepreneurial, self-employment or small business training is also sometimes available through community colleges or school boards, and at times in part-time or distance education programs. Check with those in your area.

If you prefer to learn from a book, review the offering in the small business section of a major bookstore. I like Kathleen Allen's Entrepreneurship for Dummies (Wiley Publishing) because it differentiates between entrerpreneurship and small-business development and provides a wealth of information in small, readable chunks.

A word of caution: Operating a small business, even if it employs no one but you, is hard work. Not everyone is up to it. The start-up years are often a struggle and, even after several years, self-employed Canadians' earnings tend to be about a third less than average salaries.

But if self-employment is your dream, if you have imagination and drive and you're willing to gain the necessary skills, it's a career option worth investigating. Many entrepreneurs beat the odds.
If you have a business idea but need a business plan to bring it to fruition, look for the Royal Bank of Canada's step-by-step guide on the banks' website www.royalbank.com/sme/bigidea/index.html