Hey y’all! (I just felt like testing out a new greeting. Too Beverly Hillbilly-ish?)
Well, I’m not giving up on this dream of being an entrepreneur. It’s something I’ve been working towards for many years now (ever since I repackaged talcom powder into plastic bags and tried to sell them to my friends as ‘magicians dust’ when I was 7!) It’s scary and different and I feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing. They never taught us how to start a business at school, it wasn’t encouraged in my family, and everywhere I turn around people seem to be saying to me “too risky!” and trying to convince be to just get a job. Well bugger them!
Something I have recently learned about myself when it comes to undertaking exciting and scary new ventures: I need a bit of hand-holding and mentoring sometimes, so I don’t descend back into procrastination. And I found just the thing! (No, it’s not network-marketing-related- I just aint cut out for that line of work, and I got sick off all the bullshit that went with it).
Full-time uni has ended- I’m working on the very last subject of my degree in Creative Industries, and the time is now to implement all I have learned! ……..um……….yeah……….
NEIS to the rescue!
As soon as my full-time degree ended I went from crappy student allowance to crappy job-seeker’s allowance, which meant that I was eligible to apply for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme where the government actually gives you money, and mentoring, to start a business! Not only do I get to do a Cert IV in Business Management (for freeeee), but I get hands-on assistance from people who know what they’re doing (or so I’m told) and mentoring for a year.
I find it interesting how the government gives incentives to business owners and not employees. Apparently it’s something about entrepreneurs saving the economy? For example, normally when you’re on a government allowance you’re only allowed to earn so much money from work on the side- and it’s a tiny miniscule amount- before it affects your government payments (which are crap by the way). The whole system is designed to keep people poor and discourage people from earning more money. On the other hand, now that I’m on the NEIS program, I am officially allowed to earn an unlimited amount of money from my business and still receive Newstart allowance (which you have to be on to get into NEIS). Not that that’s something to be too excited about, after all, the aim is to never have to deal with Centrelink (aka “Smellylink” or “Satanlink”) EVER AGAIN.
The course is going really well. I’m putting the finishing touches on my new business plan. And unlike other courses where you finish then you’re totally on your own, the ongoing mentoring is a real asset. In fact, in order to stay on the program I need to be actually earning money from my business, in increasing amounts each year, which with the help of my mentors, and my skills etc. is going to be a piece of cake!
