The British are well known for their entrepreneurial spirit. However, during this recession UK business confidence has taken a severe knock and surveys suggest that many would-be entrepreneurs are holding back from starting up their own business because of the recession.

It is true that access to finance isn't as easy as it once was and there is a lot of uncertainty in today's market, but with the right advice and training, there are some great opportunities out there for new businesses.

Starting a business in a recession can in fact be advantageous if you have the confidence to pull it off:

• Many businesses have gone under during the recession, so there are more gaps in the market for your business to fill.
• Companies are looking for new partners and suppliers to try to cut costs.
• Rent advertising and recruitment costs are all much lower than they were a few years ago.
• There is a larger pool of talent available to recruit from, particularly graduates who can bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to your organisation.

If that wasn't enough to make you think twice, companies such as Wikipedia, CNN, Burger King and HP are just a few examples of businesses that grew out of a recession.

Self-confidence is an important part of being an entrepreneur, so if you are thinking twice about starting your own business, testing the viability of your business plan and developing the practical skills you'll need to run your business on a day to day basis might give you the impetus you need to bring your business idea to life.

Testing the strength of your business plan is absolutely essential if you are going to be able to run a sustainable business. The best way of testing your idea whilst learning new skills to help you run your business on a day-to-day basis, is to find a good business start-up course. Selecting the right course can be tricky because there is a lot of information available to start-ups, which can get confusing and you don't want to get overwhelmed from the start. What you need to look for is a course that has a blend of information, advice/mentoring and practical learning about the essentials of running a business.

Taking a business start-up course is a good way of getting face-to-face feedback from business experts as well as giving you a forum in which to make new contacts, get new ideas and tighten up that business plan. When the time comes to seek financial backing, your business plan will vitally important.

If you feel you have an area of weakness, whether that is in finance, marketing, or operations, a start-up course can give you the chance to improve your skills and make you a more well-rounded entrepreneur; after all running a business requires many different skills and very few people can be expected to be experts in all areas of running a business.

TCHC is a specialist company in business start-up training and workforce development. For more information please visit www.tchc.net [1]