You have an idea for a business! But what do you do next?

So let's set the scene for a second. Let's imagine you have an idea in your head that sounds like it could work well as a business. Maybe it's a lightbulb moment that just came to you in a flash, or something that has been building over time. Perhaps even something influenced by your university course or a solution to a problem.

If you're passionate to make your idea come to life what do you do next and more importantly where should you start? This blog explores the first steps you can take to get support for your idea.

Starting close to home is a great place to start. The university offers a ton load of support and you can get help from the B-Enterprising Team who are on hand to guide you through your start-up journey.

1. Booking a start-up appointment. Speaking to an advisor is a great first step and this can help you realise what you need to do next. B-Enterprising run online appointments over zoom or in-person appointments on campus. These sessions are informal and allow you to talk through your idea and get help for anything you are unsure of in the road ahead. Get Start-Up Advice

2. Start-Up Learning Hub. How do you start a business? What types of business are there? and where can you find tips from those who have already been there and set something up? If you need these types of questions answered we recommend visiting the new B-Enterprising Learning Hub which has 'How to' Guides, Webinars and Start-Up sessions to help teach you how to manage your start-up project. Find out how to register your business, get tips on finding your first customers and build your idea up with help from our bitesize sessions.
B-Enterprising Learning Hub

You can benefit from resources like the COBRA Business Reference Advisor library, which simply put is an interactive bank of information recommended for entrepreneurs. Through this resource, you can tap into the latest information on market sectors and get factsheets on the product or service you are working on. 

3. Events on Campus - B-Enterprising run events on campus each year including enterprise Boot Camps and Start-Up programmes.

This is a great opportunity to meet other people with a shared passion for innovation. See the latest events here. 

Many connections have been made during our events. For example, PhD researchers Paris Lalousis and Frankie Lewns met each other at a virtual consultancy challenge event. The idea they come up with during the challenge was then turned into a business called Bloomwise - a consultancy designed to revolutionise mental health in the workplace!

Each year we join in with celebration events such as Global Entrepreneurship Week (November) which as the name suggests is a celebration of innovation across the world.

A little more close to home and you can find events in the region such as Birmingham Tech Week (October).

4. Funding - The B-Enterprising Ideas Fund runs all year round and offers you the chance to test a business idea. How would £500 funding help you during a six month period? If you are eligible to start a business in the UK this could be a great way to test your market and get set up. We also have a sister fund which helps businesses which have already been registered. Find out about Funding

5. Join the start-up community. Did you know there is an active community of innovators at the University of Birmingham. 

You can find businesses on the UoB Start-Up Business Guide and we are looking forward to working with a new society called The Entrepreneurship society who will be operating from The Guild of Students from September 2023.

If you would like to contact them and be a member please visit their Entrepreneurship society Instagram page. 

6. Be inspired. We feature enterprise and start-up stories each week on this blog. Search for stories inspired by student and graduate innovations, or visit the University of Birmingham Business Guide which contains over 90+ businesses.

TOP TIP: The University of Birmingham offer students and graduates an Alumni Email for 'Life' so you always have a bham.ac.uk account available even after you leave. This account gives you the freedom to access our learning hub and allows you to make the most of free university services such as Careers Network events.

7. Spinouts, Intellectual Property, R&D. If you are a hi-tech innovator and need support with Research and Development or IP, you can get help from another team at the university - University of Birmingham Enterprise. Based at the Birmingham research park, this team work with academic innovations such as Aceleron.

Outside the university, there is support available from organisations throughout the UK. Enterprise Nation run daily events for entrepreneurs including their Lunch and Learn sessions each day from 12pm. These sessions feature a start-up topic and include a speaker from a start-up organisation. 

The B-Enterprising Learning Hub also includes a wide variety of business support services such as Gov.UK website with information about how to register a business, and organisations such as Federation of Small Businesses and NatWest Business Builder.

If you would like to get help for your idea, please email B-Enterprising at benterprising@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will do our best to help you find the right support to help you.

Written by Bob Lee