AS the old adage goes, from tiny acorns mighty oaks grow. And young people with bright ideas are helping boost the Tees Valley economy for the better. With a third of the North-east 16-plus population now self employed, JEZ DAVISION discovers the impact young entrepreneurs are making on Teesside’s business community.
“CASH, confidence and credibility. It’s a fallacy that people can’t start a business without money or entrepreneurial talent.”
Terry Owens is living proof that a lack of cash, experience or academic qualifications shouldn’t prevent budding entrepreneurs from turning their dreams into commercial reality.
The founder of business advice firm Inbiz might have “blown it” at school - departing academia at the age of just 15 - but ended up running a main car dealership eight years later before becoming his own boss at just 24 with a wife and two children in tow.
Self-starter Terry believes the current generation of young people are more inclined to “take the plunge” - even those who have tried unsuccessfully before.
He says: “The young have less inhibitions nowadays. We’re still a long way from the American philosophy where most entrepreneurs fail once or twice before they make it, but we’re getting there.
“My advice would be to follow your heart and go for it - but don’t be afraid to take advice.”
There is plenty of support out there. As well as Inbiz, Business and Enterprise North East (BENE) - which manages the Business Link advisory service - has dealt with more than 1,750 people looking to start a business in Tees Valley, while The Prince’s Trust Business Programme has supported around 360 young people this year, including 85 from Tees Valley.
Offering grants and business support for people aged 18-30 - many of whom have struggled at school, been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law - the £1m-per-month programme generates a return of more than £2 for each pound invested.
The trust’s North-east regional director, David Beavis, is urging more input from “the region’s best business brains” to enable “the brightest young minds” to get their ideas off the ground - because despite the best efforts of Tees Valley’s rising stars, the North-east needs all the help it can get.
The region, government statistics say, has one of the lowest rates in the UK for enterprise activity and regional development agency One NorthEast has set a target of creating as many as 22,000 new VAT-registered businesses by 2016. Targeting young people is a crucial part of the campaign.
The Tees Valley is doing its bit to help - the number of VAT-registered businesses in 2007 was up 6.2% on the previous year, compared with 2.9% nationally - but these figures tell only part of the story.
Many self-employed people or limited companies - including Middlesbrough communications consultant Anna Addison - deliberately stay under the VAT registration threshold of £67,000 to avoid additional tax liabilities.
For her and others, entrepreneurship is less about making money and more about controlling her destiny. But for those responsible for driving enterprise through the local economy, the need to turn fledgling businesses into sizeable employers is as important as getting entrepreneurs to dip their toe in the water in the first place.
Terry Owens believes the cluster approach adopted by Middlesbrough’s DigitalCity is the perfect recipe for sustainable economic development.
He says: “The Boho Zone in Middlesbrough is one of the most exciting developments in Teesside in years. That’s exactly the way you create jobs and wealth.
“Small firms throughout the whole supply chain can benefit from clusters of entrepreneurial activity.”
Some believe this activity starts well before people have been exposed to the cut-throat world of commerce.
Enterprise champion Make Your Mark - which works with people under 30 - has teamed up with TV Dragon Peter Jones to challenge 20,000 young people across the UK to make as much profit and social impact as possible from a £10 loan.
Around 550 students from six Teesside schools have signed up for the scheme, which is open to people under 19 and runs again this year from February.
Once the £10 loans have been returned, participants will be able to decide what to do with their profits – use them to develop their idea further, invest them in a good cause, or keep them.
Katy Tindall, campaign manager for Make Your Mark in the North-east, said: “We are trying to instill an entrepreneurial spirit in young people and get them thinking about how to put enterprising ideas to good use.”
