"If only....!" How often do we hear those words? "If only....things were in someway different....then I might be able to achieve my goals".

This attitude often applies to people thinking about starting up their own business.

"If only I had a good idea ....; if only someone would help me....; if only I had the money....".

As Woody Allen once lamented, "If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank."

Starting up your own business is very much a matter of removing all the "if onlys" so all that is left is to go for it and get on with the job.

For most would-be entrepreneurs, help is needed to overcome the many obstacles confronting early stage businesses.

Fortunately, more support is now available than there has ever been. It comes through many private and public sector agencies and at many different special events.

This week is National Enterprise Week, which comes as secondary schools across the country are introducing a minimum of five days' enterprise education for all students at GCSE level.

Schools such as Burnholme College and Tadcaster Grammar, which are designated as business and enterprise colleges, are leading the way.

But all local schools have been getting involved with enterprise activities, many of them coordinated by the North Yorkshire Business Education Partnership (NYBEP), which now incorporates the Enterprise Advisory Service for York and North Yorkshire.

Companies such as CPP, one of York's largest employers, have been running financial awareness sessions for students.

Others, such as Nestl, are planning ways to involve teachers from local schools in their special training sessions designed to encourage creativity, while Norwich Union Life has sponsored a nationwide Stockmarket Challenge which will culminate in a national final in York (See picture above).

Norwich Union will also be sponsoring the entire student presence at Venturefest Yorkshire, which takes place at York Racecourse on Wednesday, February 8, next year.

Venturefest's business prize next year will be worth more than £25,000, but there are also two brand new awards for very early-stage activities, both sponsored by the York Merchant Adventurers' Company (www.venturefestyork.net/awards).

The Seek-and-Find Grants are to help people from any walk of life to develop their talents for the good of themselves and their community, while the Merchant Adventurers' Enterprise Award is a straight cash prize of up to £5,000 for the most innovative and entrepreneurial business idea.

So, if you are thinking of creating a business, or improving an existing one, it is probably time to stop thinking "if only...." and to focus on getting support from some of the many sources now available.

Updated: 11:14 Wednesday, November 16, 2005