Business Startup Insurance. What protection do you need? As my first year of business in York neared its end I arrived at work one Monday only to discover a ransacked office. Cables were ripped out of walls, paper covered the floor and my only computer was gone. Pants. Read More

Not long ago, I attended an entrepreneurship conference in London which attracted a range of academics, trainers and consultants. Short on collective wisdom yet high on clouded crystal balls, the organisers chose to kick things off with a ‘motivational speaker’. The billing stated our man of purpose was also a ‘leading entrepreneur and businessman’. Unfortunately, no-one in the audience had signed up to be pumped with 'umph' at 10am on a wet Tuesday. But this didn't stop the suited and booted Mr Demotivation. Misjudging his missive and moment he slid into a shocker of a show. Prepare yourself... Read More

John Keats - inspiration for entrepreneurial poetry John Keats, the famous 19th century poet, became part of the Italian family holiday during the summer. His life fascinated and helped me to understand the power of entrepreneurial poetry... Read More

Umph! The Entrepreneurship Competition Being 25 years' self-employed I feel I've developed a 'nose' for judging whether a business or project might work. The personal journey over the last quarter century has had its mix of success and failure; critical experience informing the senses as to whether something new can progress sufficiently so it bears fruit in the longer-term... Read More

The importance of uncertainty cannot be under-estimated when preparing people for work Setting out for Loughborough University (to guest speak at their entrepreneur's 'ThinkBig' awards) I was reminded of the insight and wisdom of Patrick Awuah. Earlier in June of that year I had listened to him talk about the importance of uncertainty at the GBSN conference in Tunisia... Read More

Learn the art of making successful phone sales calls People who don't seek to master the art of making successful phone sales calls are often crap at their job. What’s worse is that many charlatans have received some god-awful training which might as well be called ‘How to shaft the customer’... Read More

How do you maximize exhibition opportunities? To promote products and services, many small businesses need to know how to maximize exhibition opportunities. Just like the hitchhiker, you put yourself right in front of passing potential customers, waiting for someone to take interest and stop by... Read More