Hello everybody! I am so glad to have this opportunity to come and speak for you here today. First of all let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Rice and I am the dean of Babson Business School and specialized in entrepreneurship which I will be taking about today. In this speech I will be taking about what it takes to start up your own business and what you have to most aware about when you do it. I will be taking about how other entrepreneurs successfully started their businesses and what pros and cons about starting a franchise can be. Then I will draw some attention to some of the most common mistakes and pitfalls in starting a franchise and how to avoid doing them. Lastly I will discuss the increasing success of the franchise concept as a way to start your business from scratch. And when I am done taking there will be an opportunity to comment and ask questions about the speech, so please hold your questions to after the speech, thank you.
So what does it take to start your own company and become your own boss? First you have to have a good idea or concept to begin with. This can be whatever comes into your mind to first, but it has to be something you are good at. It can be something that has already been done before, the key is just that it is something you are good at and hopefully also better than others. When you have found your business idea it is all about doing the right research on the sector you are going in to. Make sure that you are suited for the challenge of running your own business. But before you take the big step and open your business you have to have the finances it takes. It is also a good idea to hire a lawyer and accountant to make sure that the legal and financial basics are okay. If you do not have an idea of your own and if you are not sure how to start your business from the bottom, you can go with a franchise. A franchise model of business is where you buy an existing idea and start your own business in that name.