Start It course kickstarts ideas for summer

COIN South’s Start It final cohort for 2022 begins next Monday 7 November, providing an opportunity for people to work hard on their next big idea before the summer break.

“Many of us take time off from our full time jobs over December and January which means there is a couple of months to put some serious work into that side hustle you've been thinking of all year” Cathy Peters, COIN South Chief Activator says. 

The Start It course offers two options for budding entrepreneurs. The first option is an online only course introducing participants to customer validation, problem solving and business basics. The second option is the same online course with additional three one on one mentoring sessions with the COIN South team. 

“The online programme works well for people that have a 9-5 job or live out of the region and want to work at their own pace in their own time. We also know that some people appreciate the accountability and support of the mentoring sessions, so we’ve added this as an optional extra” Peters says. 

COIN joined forces with expertise from local businesses, including ELM Marketing agency for marketing and social media advice, and Malloch McLean for accounting and business planning advice.

Grace Bradley, a mum of three, was in the mid-year cohort and had an idea of sensory based play products for children.  Keen to find out where to even start, taking the next step and how to actually set up the business, Grace found the course to be valuable. 

“Start It helped me to consider if it was a good idea to pursue and the research you should be doing beforehand to work out if you are solving a problem, what customers priorities are, and market research. A lot of work to begin with but so important to identify again if it's worth pursuing. It could save you a lot of money in the long run”. Grace adds. 

“And what was Grace’s biggest takeaway from the course? “To value your time. Even though it doesn't cost as such, you need to put a value on your time when making a product and factor this into the cost. Also the importance of social media and building a following prior to launch”. 

The course will conclude on 9 December. The online course is $57+GST and the online course with  additional mentoring sessions $172.50 +GST. There will also be a Popcorn Pitch evening in the new year and a Start It course for those with new ideas from the summer break. Head to coinsouth.nz/startit to find out more.