Mystery donor buys OBI Bursaries
January 24, 2009 by Admin
The hopes and aspirations of hundreds were raised today by the news that Bursaries have been bought at OBI to help the talented jobless set up their own businesses on the Internet.
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The OBI bursary scheme gives first refusal to its donors on investment opportunities in its members businesses. This means the next generation of Internet entrepreneurs can be guided to their success at little or no cost and then have their business capitalised for expansion by their sponsor. With one job for every seven applicants in most markets, Online Business Initiative (OBI), provides real hope and opportunity in a world of employment despair. Tim Brocklehurst, OBI’s founder said “With funding like this, applicants stand a real chance of reaching their dream while being trained in all the skills needed to fulfil their online business aspirations.”
The news of these bursaries will please Lord Carter, who in his speach at the Westminster Business Forum last week called for a “material step change in how we approach digital education, skills and so-called media and digital literacy.”
With an aim to get people earning from their own Internet businesses within 3 months, OBI has brought together the UK’s leading Internet experts to provide practical “Action Learning” style training.
Participants are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced classes, and then work in teams to share skills such as copywriting, co-ordination, design, programming and marketing. OBI’s aim is to guide them step-by-step towards their own web business. The teamwork means no technical experience is necessary, although it can help.
Nicola Cairncross of The Money Gym, and a former student of OBI, said: “I found it a challenge initially to get to grips with the process as I’m not good at following sequential instructions. But I could clearly see the awesome ability to encompass and automate so many elements of internet marketing under one roof, so I was determined to crack it and use it to grow my existing business.”
“I have never been more convinced that one product offers a genuinely one-stop-shop answer to both solo-preneurs wanting to grow their business AND aspiring Internet marketers.”
Of those who join OBI, Brocklehurst explained, “Some come with an idea for a new business, others with an existing company they want to take online. The remainder, who make up the majority, don’t have a clue what their business will be, so we give them a broad choice of ready-made products and websites, like a turnkey system, to get the ball rolling.”
Members learn a wide array of skills from Search Engine Optimization and pay-per-click advertising to web page design, e-commerce methods and the online marketing funnel.
With the tiny start up costs required for a web business, OBI’s bursary scheme will effectively give succssful applicants an income for nothing.
Bursary applicants will need to show they are prepared to learn and apply themselves to the task. They should also be accustomed to working on a computer and show a flair in using the Internet. Previous experience in an Internet business is not required.
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