Could You Be Your Own Boss?

Could You Be Your Own Boss?
Making an informed decision about starting a business – a guide for the newly-redundant
Author: Brian O’Kane
ISBN 978-1-904887-29-4

If you have just been made redundant, or think you might be made redundant soon, and you're thinking of starting a business – and lots of people are just now –  you might consider reading Could You Be Your Own Boss? A short book (only 60 pages), it takes you through the basics of planning a start-up, from the point where you are just thinking about it to the point where you can engage with the various enterprise support bodies in launching your new business. The aim of this book is to help you to come to an informed decision as to whether self-employment is right for you in your present circumstances.

Written by start-up expert, Brian O’Kane, whose other books include Starting a Business in Ireland and Starting Your Own Business: A Workbook, Could You Be Your Own Boss? is informative, without being preachy, to the point and and, most important, easy to read. It also has a supporting web-site: www.couldyoubeyourownboss.com.

The first chapter, Signing-up for Self-employment, looks at the pluses and minuses and asks you whether you are ready for it. O’Kane makes the fair point that the right answer, in your personal circumstances just now, might be to turn down the idea of self-employment. Not a problem, there’ll be another time!

Chapter 2, Finding an Idea, addresses most would-be entrepreneurs’ first hurdle. For most people – especially those who have not previously given a lot of thought to the notion of self-employment –the hardest thing about starting a business is finding an idea, deciding what kind of business it will be, or what it will sell or make. Basically, he says, there are three ways of coming up with an idea for a business: copy, create, or find a growing sector. O’Kane offers some suggestions for finding an idea - including taking on a franchise.

OK, you’ve got the idea and you’re raring to go! But is your idea any good? Evaluating Your Idea helps you decide. Importantly, it stresses the need for market research before you start – it’s no use making something, only to find no one wants to buy it!

And then, the next hurdle - Finding Money & Help – where O’Kane explains briefly the types and sources of finances, including grants, available today.

Starting Your Business and Further Information look further ahead, to the point where you have made a decision to go ahead, to do a start-your-own-business course, to take the next step towards turning your idea into reality.

At 60 pages, Could You Be Your Own Boss? is hardly comprehensive – O’Kane’s workbook is the Bible here – but it does the job it set out to do: to help you make an informed decision about whether self-employment is right for you. O’Kane’s nearly two decades of experience in guiding start-ups shows throughout.

Win a FREE copy!

Just email donal@corporatetraining.ie with your name, address and 'Could You Be Your Own Boss' as the subject, and you'll be in with a chance of winning one of three copies we have to give away

To order a copy of Could You Be Your Own Boss?, price €10 (inc P&P), visit www.oaktreepress.com.

Donal Kavanagh