Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise

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Entrepreneurship

Considering starting your own business, or bringing a new business prospect to fruition can be an exciting, if sometimes daunting, idea for many graduates.  It is a career route open to all disciplines and active in a wide range of industries and sectors.

What types of jobs are there?

For those considering stepping into this sector, there are many sites offering excellent summaries of the pros, cons and top tips which can help to decide whether or not further exploration and experience in this direction worthwhile: http://thegatewayonline.com/articles/entrepreneurship The Gateway Online's Entrepreneurship pages
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/self_employment.htm Prospect's overview of self-employment

What skills do I need?

Essential qualities include:
•    willingness to take risks;
•    acceptance of uncertainty;
•    natural networker;
•    self-discipline;
•    a total commitment to hard work;
•    passion;
•    energy;
•    creativity.

What are the entry points?

If you do decide that entrepreneurship is for you, do explore the excellent support services available, many of which can help you to grow your knowledge of business elements and support you with funding, competitions, opportunities and training, to get you ready to start up.  See our website list at the end of this briefing for links to great sites that can help.

Three that need to be mentioned particularly are
1.    Oxford Entrepreneurs provide useful information and events, as well as opportunities for business growth, competitions for budding entrepreneurs, incubator support and more.
2.    The Oxford Hub is a great place to flex your entrepreneurial muscles. Their social enterprise team offers a range of events and resources to get you started in the world of social entrepreneurship.
3.    Make it Happen is not just for mentoring (although this is fantastic).  They have excellent pages of information, which make sure that they link straight to the pages on tax and government websites that you need.  If that weren't enough, their webinars (each Monday and Wednesday evening at 6pm) are phenomenally good - and just by logging in to use them you'll have access to the entire back catalogue of over 100 - complete with Q&A sessions.  Each presentation is around 30 minutes - making it a perfect way to increase your knowledge from the comfort of your own terminal.
The Careers Service has some brilliant reference books on starting your own business or social enterprise too - come in to 56 Banbury Road and read more.  If you're in need of advice and guidance, book an appointment to see Lucy Hawkins, our Careers Adviser with a special interest in entrepreneurship.


There are lots of great events around to help you learn and develop as an entrepreneur.
A great one near us is Venturefest which runs at the Said Business School (the last at time of writing was in June 2011).  It's free and it's programme with three streams of talks is a brilliant opportunity to bolster your knowledge: http://www.venturefest.com/about-venturefest/

Are you trading?

Once you’re trading, consider how we can help you showcase you success:
•    Become a mentor for current students – email lucy.hawkins@careers.ox.ac.uk.
•    Enter student start up awards, such as the EveryWoman Award or Shell LiveWire ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’
•    Become an alumni member of Oxford Entrepreneurs - open to any Oxford alumnus, and a first step to giving back to the society.

International students   

There are frequent changes to the rules affecting international students and recent graduates wishing to work in the UK. Until April 2012 the Tier 1 Post-Study Work category of the Points-Based System to work in the UK will be in operation. Under this scheme, international students can apply for leave to live and work in the UK for a maximum period of two years, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. In April 2012 this will be replaced with a new route in Tier 2 which will require a job offer, a minimum salary and students will need to apply within the UK.

It is recommended that, for the most up-to-date information, you check the UKCISA: UK Council for International Student Affairs website which offers independent information and advice about immigration, finance and working in the UK, and also the UK Border Agency website. Please refer to our Diversity files at the Careers Service for more information, or consult the University's Student Information and Advisory Service.

Relevant events

For full details of events, check the What’s On section of our website and log in to CareerConnect.

Resources available

OXFORD CAREERS NETWORK (OCN)
The OCN is a database of Oxford alumni who are willing to be contacted about their career. Read their case studies for behind-the-scenes insights into an organisation or occupation, and contact volunteers for more advice and information via CareerConnect.

RESOURCE CENTRE

The Careers Service has an extensive resource centre at 56 Banbury Road, Oxford, where you can drop in to browse during opening hours (visit our website for details).

BOOKS

•    A guide to working for yourself, Jonathan Reuvid
•    Going for self-employment: how to set up and run your own business, John Whitely
•    How to start and run a tutoring business: a complete manual for setting up and running your own tutoring agency, Gillian Stellman
•    How to start and run an internet business, Carol Anne Strange

E-BOOKS
The following e-books are available through SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online) -  http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

•    Lead like an entrepreneur, Neal Thornberry
•    Making it: women entrepreneurs reveal their secrets of success, Lou Gimson and Allison Mitchell
•    Making sense of business: a no-nonsense guide to business skills for managers and entrepreneurs, Alison Branagan
•    My big idea: 30 successful entrepreneurs reveal how they found inspiration, Rachel Bridge
•    The risk takers: 16 women and men share their entrepreneurial strategies for success, Renee and Don Martin

FURTHER SUPPORT
If you're in need of advice and guidance, book an appointment to see Lucy Hawkins, our Careers Adviser with a special interest in entrepreneurship.

Useful websites

If you do decide that entrepreneurship is for you, do explore the excellent support services available, many of which can help you to grow your knowledge of business elements and support you with funding, competitions, opportunities and training.
•    http://www.oxfordentrepreneurs.co.uk/about-us/  University student society
•    http://oxfordhub.org/socialenterprise For social enterprises
•    http://www.theemergelab.org/ Support from University's Skoll Centre & Student Hubs
•    http://betafoundry.com/ Incubator and investment for Oxford University students
•  http://www.ncge.org.uk/  National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
•    http://www.mihmentoring.com/  Free mentoring, webinars and business advice
•    http://www.flyingstartonline.com/  More excellent stuff from NCGE
•    http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/need_help/enterprise_programme.aspx  has support for any 18 - 30 year olds currently not in work
•    http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/  Government start-up help
•    http://www.startupbritain.org/  is a new government-endorsed website to encourage entrepreneurship
•    http://www.shell-livewire.org/



Page last edited: 28 March 2012

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