Whanganui charitable trust Thrive launches Boss Book to help self-starters

Thrive team members Anita Smart and Petrina Clark at the Boss Book launch.

Whanganui start-up coaches are selling a “step-by-step journey” to formulating a clear business plan - the Boss Book.

It’s the brainchild of charitable trust and social enterprise Thrive Whanganui.

Thrive programme and partnerships lead Elise Goodge said the Boss Book was the result of giving Whanganui residents business advice for the past five years.

“One of the main messages of the book is that starting a business is always scary and it’s normal to feel apprehensive and afraid,” she said.

It was launched at collaborative space The Backhouse with a crowd of 30 people in attendance, including members of Business Whanganui and Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe, who was a founding member of Thrive.

“The Boss Book is the equivalent of being in a foreign country and you don’t speak the language and you need to get from A to B and it’s very scary and you feel lost, then someone hands you a GPS,” Goodge said.

“It is a self-guided resource that takes people through a step-by-step journey to write a business plan.”

Goodge said 50 per cent of the clients Thrive worked with ended up starting their own business or upskilled to one day start their business idea.

“We get a lot of people who have been working on a business project but want to formalise it, or who don’t know what the best pathway forward is.”

She said creating a business plan could lead to financing for a potential business - by having a resource to show when targeting investors, loans or grant funding.

“It doesn’t take the fear away but gives you more of a clear direction.”

Tripe said it was heartening to see how Thrive had grown and to witness the launch of the book.

“It’s a gem, it’s like a colouring-in book for adults in the sense that it’s interactive, fun and practical, as opposed to a big long document with details on how to fill out a business plan.

“It’s user-friendly.”

He said the Boss Book would also be of interest to people already in business who wanted to build tighter discipline and a stronger direction for projects.

“Starting a business is not easy, it’s hard work. Filling out this book is not going to make a business happen but it gives a good basis where, in a structured way, you can put your thoughts on paper.

“To go into business these days you need good marketing skills, to be organised, and good at relationship building, as well as having a product or service you believe in.”

Tripe said he had seen more and more people becoming less satisfied with a nine-to-five job and looking to start their own business projects.

The book is on sale for $99 from Thrive.

Goodge said the potential price barrier meant she was currently in negotiation with libraries to make the book available there.

“We would like to get it into some retail outlets and also for those people who can’t afford it to be able to access it with a library card.”