For a new entrepreneur, buying an existing business may seem like a great idea, but whether it’s new or established, you need a business plan and Venture Kamloops is helping aspiring businesspersons get off the ground.

VK Venture Advisors is a program for new entrepreneurs, where a panel of local business leaders go over your plan and find the problems with it.

As Executive Director Jim Anderson said on NL Newsday you have to show your ideas to the right people. “You need to talk to people and test your ideas.”

“One of the pitfalls that we see among entrepreneurs is they go to the people they know and love and ask them these questions and of course those people who know and love you will be supportive and say that’s a great idea. You need to test it.”

He says sharing your plan with the right people is imperative if you want it to get off the ground. “There is lots of support and there are plenty of hard questions but at the end of the day, the idea is to poke holes in business plans for new entrepreneurs and make sure that they’re on the right track.”

Anderson says one mistake people often make is over confidence. “Financial plans that are far too optimistic of market research that is way to myopic.”

“I have this new business and I believe my market share will be 50 percent. We all know that’s not realistic but sometimes you just need somebody to remind you of that.”

He said the panel has no vested interest other than seeing young entrepreneurs succeed.

Anderson pointed out, if you want to learn about a business, the best resource is the current owner.