Curtin University of Technology Growth Program manager Phil Doyle says entrepreneurs can take comfort in knowing they are not alone in the types of problems they face within the business world.
Curtin University of Technology Growth Program manager Phil Doyle says entrepreneurs can take comfort in knowing they are not alone in the types of problems they face within the business world.
He said of the 500 business people to have taken his course, almost all have a "Eureka" moment on the first day when they realise many others are going through the same issues.
"Usually, the first thing people will realise when they take the growth program is that they aren't alone, that many other people out there are going through the exact same issues, the same problems as what they are," Mr Doyle told WA Business News.
Curtin's growth course gives owners of small-to-medium enterprises the skills to effectively grow their company, through workshops which are delivered by business professionals.
According to Mr Doyle, almost all students who take the course soon realise: "you don't know what you don't know."
He said improving cash-flow, streamlining processes and being able to work less were the most common problems business owners raised during the course of the program.
"Another common theme is confidence, the inherent lack of confidence of these people," Mr Doyle said.
"Business people are outwardly people who appear confident, but as we begin to peel away the layers during the course we find time and time again they aren't all that confident to run the business."
"The growth program gives them the confidence to run their business to the best of their potential."
HBE Security co-owners Carl Petty and Grant Bagshaw last week graduated from Mr Doyle's program.
The pair took the course in a bid to increase the Nedlands-based company's cash-flow and gross profit margin.
Mr Bagshaw said the common struggle between all of the small business owners was striking.
"Being on the same page as everyone else most definitely allowed us to gauge whether we were on the right track or not," he said.
"The problem when you feel isolated is that you don't know if you are going down the right track. The course showed us that, well, compared with everyone else we pretty much are and they too were looking for that reassurance."
Business owner Michele Briggs, who operates dance wear retailer Studio Scene in Myaree, took the Curtin Growth Program to scale back the amount of time she was spending at work.
The course offered Ms Briggs a way of streamlining her business by providing her with systems, formats, policies and procedures that showed her where to start.
Course graduate Martin Creelman, who runs Lesmurdie-based property and publishing company Creelman Enterprises with his father Andrew, said the course gave him a better perspective to view the company from.
Mr Creelman said he was more confident in growing the family business knowing that other small WA companies were experiencing similar teething problems.
Mr Doyle said the reason for the commonality of issues between business owners taking the course was because entrepreneurs inherently had similar traits.
