Home Businesses Get a Kick Start in Hove

Start-up business expert and best-selling author Emma Jones inspired would-be entrepreneurs last week at an event run by Chamber members Staples, giving advice on how to take the first steps into the world of self-employment.

At the 'Start a Business in Your Spare Time' event Emma, founder of Enterprise Nation and author of Spare Room Start-up and Working 5 to 9, said: "More and more people are looking for ways to earn money at home to either supplement their income, build a business with a view to eventually giving up their job, or put a hobby to good use.

"There’s never been a better time to consider running your own business and it’s getting easier and easier all the time with the internet and the endless possibilities that provides.

"The key thing is having a niche idea that you are passionate about, or spotting a gap in the market or just seeing something that you think you could do better and translating that into a viable business.

"People think you need a lot of money to set up a business – you don’t.  It could be as little as £50, or even less. Our research suggests that by the end of 2011, more than eightmillion people in the UK will be making some form of income from home – which is incredible."

Also speaking at the event was ecommerce guru and blogger Dan Wilson, a writer and consultant specialising in internet marketing, ecommerce and social media. He was part of the team that founded eBay in Britain in 1999 and is the bestselling author of Make Serious Money on eBay UK.

Dan said: "Any enterprise not looking at the internet as a fundamental part of how they do business will suffer.  It has become such a huge part of our culture and will continue to be more and more powerful."

The final speaker giving advice on starting a business in your spare time was Jo Godden, a designer by day for ethical underwear firm Pants to Poverty. Jo has launched her own not-for-profit ethical swimwear company Ruby Moon while still holding down a day job.

Staples store manager Mark Izzard said: “We noticed we had an increasing number of start-ups and home businesses in our customer base and wanted to do everything we could to support them as well as helping new people to set up a business by showing them it’s not as hard as they might think. We’re delighted the event was so successful.”

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