How I handled business failure, by Deborah Meaden

My first business was a financial failure. When I was 19 years old, fresh out of business school and after a brief stint as a fashion showroom model, I had moved to Italy.
I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do – I just had a burning desire to run my own show. I have [...]

Read Full Post »

How Max Clifford makes you famous

I interviewed PR legend Max Clifford last week at his offices in London. I was there for about 40 minutes but in that time I saw Chris Eubank and a soon-to-be famous starlet from this year’s Big Brother.
It’s a miracle how Clifford attracts famous people. There must be an almost constant stream of famous, formally [...]

Read Full Post »

Steep rise in new start-up numbers

Nearly 50,000 new UK businesses started in April this year, in a sign that the worst of the economic downturn is over for fledgling entrepreneurs.
New figures published by the British Bankers Association (BBA) show that 48,397 new banking relationships were agreed between banks and new businesses in April, well up on the average for 2008.
It [...]

Read Full Post »

Alan Sugar a business person’s politician

Though it isn’t announced formally yet, Sir Alan Sugar is hotly tipped to become the government’s latest ‘Enterprise Tsar’.
An insider at the Department for Business told me the appointment hadn’t been confirmed, but would “register your interest for an interview if it does take place” – sneaky.
Alan Sugar a business person’s politician

Read Full Post »

Shoppers’ confidence returning?

Consumers are more confident about the future than at any time in the last six months, according to the latest snapshot of people’s mood by Nationwide.
While most people are still gloomy about the current state of the economy, confidence in future performance is consumer spending returning, the stats revealed.
More here:
Shoppers’ confidence returning?

Read Full Post »

Working from home: the technical pros and cons

The cash and operational benefits of home working add up to a tempting business proposition. But get it wrong and you could set your business back instead of driving it forward.
Working from home: the technical pros and cons

Read Full Post »

Andrew Summersgill, co-founder of DatingTrail.co.uk

Andrew Summersgill, founder of DatingTrail.co.uk, explains why dating is like price comparison websites, why being invisible is a problem for start-up businesses and how ‘XML’ can be a problem if you’re not careful.
Andrew Summersgill, co-founder of DatingTrail.co.uk

Read Full Post »

Deborah Meaden’s top tips for securing investment

Deborah Meaden’s top tips for securing investment
I often hear start-ups complaining about how difficult it is to secure finance, yet in my experience entrepreneurs rarely give would-be investors enough information to persuade them to part with their hard-earned money.
Deborah Meaden’s top tips for securing investment

Read Full Post »