Explore Enterprise (May 2023 – Greater Manchester)
We’ve helped more than 90,000 young people to start their own business – and you could be next.
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15 May - 26 May
Greater Manchester
Online
25
18-30
Learn the basics of business and build key entrepreneurial skills
Thinking about becoming your own boss or trying to decide if self-employment is right for you? You’re in the right place.
Explore Enterprise is part of The Prince's Trust Enterprise programme. On this 2-week course, you’ll explore the basics of business through a mixture of online workshops, independent learning activities and one-to-one support.
Discover what it takes to build and grow a successful business and get to grips with essential marketing, selling, finance and business planning skills.
Once you complete the course, you'll get support to test out your business idea and the opportunity to apply for a business mentor and financial support.
Who is this course for?
This course is aimed at young people who are:
Aged between 18 and 30
Interested in becoming self-employed
Ready to explore their business idea in more detail
Self-motivated
Able to commit time to weekly learning
Able to easily access the internet (including Microsoft Teams app)
Interested in this course?
Sign up to the Prince’s Trust Learning Hub and log in for instructions on how to confirm your interest in attending this course.
More about this course
This 2-week course runs monthly.
Online group workshops:
You'll need to attend 6 online group workshops to complete the course.
Workshops run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Workshops are hosted via Microsoft Teams
Workshops take place between 10.00am - 12.30pm
Independent learning:
You’ll also be expected to complete learning activities in your own time before each workshop. These activities are important to your personal development and will help you to feel prepared and ready to contribute to group discussions.
Can't make this one?
Don't worry if you're not available for the dates below. You can contact the team to book on to a future course.
Your contact for the Greater Manchester team is Ellie Fox
Email Ellie: ellie.fox@princes-trust.org.uk
Course schedule: Week 1
Self-employment and Marketing: Monday 15th May
10am - 12.30pm
Explore what it means to be self-employed and learn marketing essentials to help you position your business in the market.
Marketing (part 2): Wednesday 17th May
10am - 12.30pm
Build on what you learned in the first workshop. We’ll discuss how to promote your product or service, competitor analysis and more.
Selling skills: Friday 19th May
10am - 12.30pm
Dive into the sales journey, online and offline selling strategies and what it takes to make a memorable first impression on your customers.
Course schedule: Week 2
Business money management: Monday 22nd May
10am - 12.30pm
Find your feet with your personal finances. Learn practical ways to manage your money and what you need to know as a business owner.
Cash-flow, book-keeping and HMRC: Wednesday 24th May
10am - 12.30pm
Get your head around finance record-keeping and the actions you need to take to keep your income and business costs in check.
Business plan and next steps: Friday 26th May
10am - 12.30pm
Start to build your business plan and find out more about the business support available to you through The Prince’s Trust.
Interested in this course?
Sign up to the Prince’s Trust Learning Hub and log in for instructions on how to confirm your interest in attending this course.
Get your business off the ground
After the course, extra business support will be available to you through our wider Enterprise programme. Should you decide you want to start your own business, we’re here to help you make it happen.
Build your business
We’ll provide you with one-to-one support time to start building your business. We’re also here to give you advice and guidance as you plan and test your ideas, and you'll even get the opportunity to apply for funding.
This is where most of your time will be spent as you work to apply everything you have learned with The Prince’s Trust to take your business forward.
Launch your business
Before you launch your business, you'll get the chance to present your business plan to our Business Launch Group. Don’t worry, there are no dragons here. This will be a positive experience to ensure there are no weak points in your plan and to give you full confidence for the successful launch of your business.
Business mentoring will be available to you at this stage in your journey. We also offer start-up finance support if you need it.
The Prince’s Trust is committed to helping every young person. However, there are some business ideas we are unable to support. You’ll have the chance to discuss your idea with one of our team in your first one-to-one after the course. If we are unable to support your idea, we will signpost you to other organisations who might be able to support.
How Noor turned her dream of starting a business into a reality
With help from our Enterprise programme, Noor set up Seaworthy Consulting, a recruitment specialist in the global marine sector.
Frequently Asked Questions
You have up to 12 months to build your business, ready for launch. We will work at your pace within that time. The length of time can depend on the stage you are at now with your business, for example, if you're already trading or your business is still an idea.
The timelines and stages of the Enterprise programme are below:
Explore Enterprise Course (Videos, Workshops & Independent tasks)
6 x 2.5-hour workshops over 2 weeks
Build Your Business (One-to-one support with Prince’s Trust Executive)
Up to 12 months
Launch Your Business (One-to-one support from a Business Mentor)
Up to 24 months
The Prince’s Trust offers small grants and start-up loans;
1. Grant to test your ideas
For example, a grant could be used to test trade your ideas or conduct market research.
2. Start-up loan
On completion of your business plan, you could have the opportunity to apply for a low-interest start-up loan of £500 - £5,000.
You will need to satisfy certain conditions before your business is eligible for a grant or a loan. Your Prince’s Trust Executive and/or your Mentor will support you to get your business ready to receive funding.
You don’t need to be registered with HMRC before you start the Explore Enterprise course. We will discuss Tax, VAT and HMRC and what you need to know during the course. We will support you to register with HMRC as needed in future.
Yes. The course is designed for you to explore your business idea with practical activities before and in every workshop. You'll get the most out of your time on Explore Enterprise if you can apply all the learning and the tools to your business.
However, we know circumstances can change; if something comes up which means you are unable to attend one of the workshops, please speak to your Prince’s Trust Executive.
We have a pool of mentors who volunteer with The Prince’s Trust. We aim to match you with a mentor who has the expertise, business skills and experience to help your business. All mentors are trained in the principles of business and will be able to help in different ways.
If you choose not to launch your business with The Prince’s Trust, we will help you to explore other options and link you to alternative support for your next steps.
Prince’s Trust Executives will support you through the process of creating a thorough business plan that covers all aspects of starting and building a business. Through the Explore Enterprise course, you may gain new knowledge to strengthen your business model and add to your existing business plan.
It’s OK if you have more than one business idea, we can support you to decide which idea to focus on.
Decided this course isn’t for you?
We’re still here for you. Explore other learning courses and support available to you. Contact our customer service team on 0800 842 842 or search for opportunities near you by using our map.