Sixth Form Business Studies students were treated to a lecture from Mr Steve Jackson – a self-confessed ‘serial entrepreneur’, who spoke with great candour about how he made the leap from paid employment to establishing his very first company.
He then gave the audience a fascinating insight into the various successes, failures and lessons learnt from the other eight companies he subsequently established. As is always the case, the assembled group were keen to hear about the failures, and Steve kindly obliged, provided some highly valuable guidance as to where things can go wrong, and the huge financial implications that can result.
Steve then dealt with many questions from the audience which ranged from: how he sourced the finance for his initial start-ups; whether business theory is actually relevant in the real world; what makes candidates stand out when he is interviewing; which financial ratios are the ones he relies on; and how Amazon can provide a jump-start for budding entrepreneurs.
He proceeded to provide some succinct guidance regarding how quality entrepreneurs attempt to ‘reduce risk’ rather than seeking it out, as well as ‘making sure that you set up a company in an area in which you have a genuine passion’.
The audience left feeling a little shell shocked regarding the sheer number of initiatives any one individual can undertake, but at the same time inspired as to what can be achieved if you really put your mind to it. Hopefully in a few years time, it will be an ex-Cranleigh Business Studies student standing there on the stage telling us about their successful entrepreneurial endeavours.
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