Every now and then people ask me what we do at NEBA. The short answer would be something like this: We provide business training that helps people to see their potential as entrepreneurs. We want to help people to see entrepreneurship as an opportunity to get a proper income through their own business.
In the forthcoming blog posts I will tell you about experiences that my colleagues and I have had during the 25 years we have been providing business training and career guidance. The focus in this blog is on practical experience – the same as in all the training NEBA provides. In my opinion, people who think about starting a new business need practical information which they can put into practice right here and now, in their everyday life.
Three ways to start a business
I see that there are three ways to start your life as an entrepreneur. If you have enough money, you can buy an existing business and invest in a company. The second way is to have a new innovation and obtain funding to start a business and make your innovation a commercial product or service – this is the way business startups often start the journey to success. However, most people have neither a lot of money nor a superb new idea.
The third way – the most traditional and common way – to start a career as an entrepreneur is to base the company on your own skills. This group of people is our main target group. This also is the focal point of our training – helping people to realize that they can start a business using the skills they already have.
A few years ago, I wrote a book aimed at those who are thinking about starting a business. The name of the book summarizes the core question in our training: “What Do You Have In Your Hand?”
You don’t even need to have a business idea
You can attend NEBA business training without having a business idea in mind. If someone is able to bake or cook a proper meal, he or she might find a need where his or her skills are the right solution, or a clientele to offer services. What you need is the will to work hard.
As most people have some kind of skills, we have potential customers all over the world. Internationally, the biggest need seems to be for entrepreneurial training aimed at people who want to start a micro or small business, which employs 1 to 10 people.
You don’t necessarily need an academic degree or education to start a business. Originally, we started the international academy by offering sponsored business training to people living in developing countries. Nowadays, the majority of our courses are ordered by universities and other educational organizations that want to offer business training for their students.
The aim of our training is to help people help themselves by starting a new business.
As the old and wise saying goes: “Give a man a fish, and you will feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will have food for the rest of his life.”
Jouni Suonpää
The author, Jouni Suonpää is the founder and chairman of NEBA (North European Business Academy). Jouni has extensive personal experience in entrepreneurship and has been training and consulting people on entrepreneurship for more than 25 years. He is also a founder and co-partner in many new businesses.