We recently had a chance to talk with Walat Shergo - a recipient of a scholarship from the City of Charles Sturt to access Business SA's SAYES Entrepreneurship Program. The program is for people between the ages of 18-35 to gain advice, develop skills and create a solid foundation for their business.
This 12 month government-funded program helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality or where a business already exists - provides support to create a sustainable business model.
We wanted to learn more about Walat's business idea, TradeGo, and how he has found the program.
How did you find the program? What motivated you to apply?
I was thinking about the business idea for a while.
I was going through the information on the websites and looking for some tools that could help me, because my experience in business wasn't very strong. I went to the Business SA website and City of Charles Sturt website and applied for the program.
The application process was easy. I had a conversation with a Business SA representative and then we talked about the business. When I applied she called me and asked me about the business, which shows how really they care.
How did you decide you wanted to start a business?
I have always wanted to start my own business. When I started my apprenticeship, this was this was always the idea is to eventually have one of my own.
Can you tell us more about your business idea and plans? Has your direction changed?
I am an electrician by trade - I work in a company now, which I've been doing for many years now. It is pretty good but I just got to the point where I thought maybe it's time for new challenge. I wanted to learn about business for a while and then start my own business.
I'm in the process of mapping out my business. I wanted to start my own business, but I wanted to learn about more about businesses, to make sure I knew how I can expand and diversify. TradeGo could be made up of different trades and not just the one I work in.
The program hasn’t changed my idea or direction - it has helped me go from having an idea, to working out how I'm going to do it.
What did you find most valuable in the program? What did you enjoy?
The SAYES program gave me a clear idea, what actions to take, and which steps to take next. Without the program I would just be thinking about starting a business, as getting started is sometimes the hardest part.
I enjoyed most of it, to be honest, but the workshops were pretty good learn about different people's different businesses. The presentations were really useful.
What was your mentor experience like in the SAYES program?
I really enjoyed my mentor. Having the mentor was the most important part of the program.
Something like mentoring, you can't really find it online. I was free to ask him so many questions.
My mentor has been consulting for businesses for many years and he has a very good expertise to be honest. He was able to like pass on his knowledge to someone with not a lot of experience, which is a skill.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs starting out or considering this program?
I think there's probably two people who consider applying - people who haven't started like me and trying to start and people who started early. For the people who are just starting up an idea stage, I think the program is excellent for the knowledge they get before they get into that challenge. That way they can recognize the challenge they're going to face after starting the business.
And for the people who already have businesses, it's great to expand their knowledge and business. The program gives you most of the tools to do that and then the rest is up to you.
I highly recommend people to go for it and apply for the SAYES program to expand their knowledge.
What’s next for you?
The difference now is that I've got more knowledge now than before. I'm excited to use it and in the new year I will try to start my business.
Do you find the environment of City of Charles Sturt to be supportive of the new entrepreneur?
The City of Charles Sturt supports people starting small businesses and to also expand their knowledge. I really appreciate the opportunity.
SAYES is taking expressions of interest for 2022.