GOT A BUSINESS IDEA?
WE CAN HELP YOU KICKSTART IT.
By Linda Liem
Do you have a business idea, but don’t know where to start? Need a room of peers to bounce ideas off? Do you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Let us help you.
Photo credit: Daria Nepriakhina
At Pollinators, we love to nurture small and budding businesses and help them find their feet. Not all of us have the opportunity to go to business school, so programs like Kickstart can help give the nudge and validation you need to get the ball moving. As a participant myself, I’m going to give you the lowdown on what the workshop includes, some real insight and gains from other participants.
What is Kickstart?
Many of us are great at coming up with ideas, but we lack the stage to test it on. Kickstart is an intensive one-day workshop that gives you a bunch of tools to build a new business or test your business idea. These workshops are designed to give you that nudge and validation to get the ball moving – turning ponder, into action.
What does the workshop include?
As a group, we deep-dive into some nitty-gritty business stuff:
we create a business model
assess our point of difference
figure out the target market
discuss costs and revenue streams
Knuckle down a solid elevator pitch
we delve into prototyping
Set short/long term goals
By the time you leave, you’ll be selling your idea to the next 10 people you meet. That’s what happened to me. Kickstart equipped me with the confidence and tools to share my business idea with others and learn from peers. And to think, it was just a random IDEA!
When was Kickstart?
Earlier in March, our Learning Lead, Emma Jackson ran Kickstart for the second time. From a laundry service to creative youth programs to heart-centred eduction – it was diverse room of business creatives. We all threw in our two cents and supported each other when we stumbled on something.
“Kickstart helped me with local connections and jobs, solidify my business development, value proposition and got me thinking about my clients first.”
– Ellen Zebegew, Zero-Sum Digital
“It has jogged my memory for those important aspects of business planning that, while may take time to work through, are essential for establishing clear direction and well defined goals.”
– Carmen-ni Perry, Harmonic Energy Flow
“I valued the input of my fellow female Kickstarters for helping me define my target market as mothers and parents, rather than just girls. Kickstart as a whole helped me to harness my own entrepreneurial spirit, I now read business books for breakfast.”
– Linda Liem, CityHive Host & Digital Content Creator
Did someone say mentoring?
Kickstart has also given us a regular opportunity to chat with startup mentor, Sam Birmingham, state co-ordinator of Startup WA. He’s taken time out of his busy schedule to make sure we’re tracking along, to bounce ideas with, while keeping us accountable with our set goals.
So there you have it, Kickstart is truly a great way to get an idea from a mere thought bubble to something more tangible. We all have different business journeys and getting started is likely the hardest part. Remember, action creates momentum and momentum means moving forward. Once you get the wheels in motion, you don’t know where you’ll end up.
Watch this space for next Kickstart Workshop.
Otherwise, contact Emma Jackson for more details: learning@pollinators.org.au