The University of Essex is delighted to invite you and the members of your network to a must-attend event for any budding entrepreneur, "The Six Rules For Startups" at the Wolsey Theatre on Thursday 25th June. The workshop is hosted personally by Doug Richard, the original BBC2 Dragon, and thanks to funding from the government's Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF) is completely free of charge to people living in Suffolk and Essex.

Before an entrepreneur invests valuable time and money into a business idea, there are six essential questions they should ask themselves: Who are my customers? What makes my proposition attractive? Do I have a sustainable competitive advantage? What type of industry am I in? Do I have the right skills and experience? Who else do I need to make this work? This seminar provides the framework within which entrepreneurs can answer these questions for themselves and offers an educational, insightful and inspiring introduction to how to succeed in business.

At Six Rules for Startups you will learn:

• The six questions every entrepreneur must be able to answer before starting a new business
• How to grow your existing business into a flourishing success
• How to treat the recession as an opportunity, rather than a threat
• How to understand the industry and the market you're in
• How to find the right customers
• All the free resources that are out there waiting to help you

Who should attend?

• Anyone with an idea for a business
• Owners of small businesses that want to grow
• Students interested in starting a business

What's included?

• 8 hours of business tuition with one of the UK's leading entrepreneurs
• Access to online resources and materials, including membership of VentureNavigator (see details below)
• 12 month's free subscription to Doug's monthly newsletter
• Accreditation as a Graduate of School for Startups (web-badge)
• Lunch and free refreshments throughout the day

Go to http://s4startupsipswich.eventbrite.com/ to register, or email info@schoolforstartups.co.uk for more information.