How does the UK compare to the rest of the world when it comes to entrepreneurship? According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2007, 10.5% of us are involved in setting up or running our own business.

This puts us at a pretty mediocre 15 out of 23 high income countries. Iceland, Greece and Ireland top the list, with the US coming in at number 6 and Japan at number 10.

Amongst the rest of the population, 24 per cent are 'potential entrepreneurs' who feel that they have the capabilities and opportunities to start a business. But fear of failure often holds people back - 37 per cent of people say it's an issue for them.

We're developing Smarta to give practical support and advice to people at all stages of the business journey, whether they're 'thinking', 'creating' or 'growing' their business.

What else should the UK be doing to encourage more people to take the step from thinking about starting a business to actually doing it?

Find out more about Smarta in our quickfire Q&A...

What is Smarta?

The Smarta website will provide information, networking, tools and services to make it easier for people to build a successful business. It'll use the latest web2.0 and mobile technologies to make sure you can get the information you need when and where you need it.

Who is it for?

Smarta will help anyone who's running a business (however big or small), starting one up or just thinking about it. Smarta will bring people at all stages of the business journey together.

So where is it then?

Smarta is currently being developed - this blog will give you a flavour of what Smarta is about and will help us gather your views and feedback so that the Smarta site gives you exactly what you need. We promise it will be worth the wait!

When will the full site be ready?

You'll be able to start using the beta version of Smarta in summer 2008. We plan to be out of beta with the full version of Smarta up and running by Enterprise Week in November 2008.

How much will it cost?

Not a penny. Membership is free.

Who's behind Smarta?

Smarta's founder is entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund - watch this video to find out more about why she's setting up Smarta. It's backed by Vodafone and the Make Your Mark campaign and it's a social enterprise (that means that any profits go straight back into making Smarta better for you).

If you've got a question that we've not answered here then let us know in the comments or drop us a line at hello@smarta.com

Years ago we came up with the idea for an article about the best place in the UK to start a business. The rough theory behind the article idea was "There are loads of grants available, there's bound to be one place that's offering the biggest grants" or so we thought. Well how wrong we were. After three weeks searching through every grants database we could think of, we came to the conclusion that it was almost impossible to get a grant to setup in business, and if you could then you'd have to go through so many hurdles that it wasn't worth it.

Well that was true until we came across this. If you're thinking about starting up, and you're flexible on where you start, then a new initiative launched by the Welsh Assembly should please you. The new Wales business Start Up project will provide support to entrepreneurs looking to set up a business in Wales, and is expected to create more than 10,000 new jobs and support the development of over 8,000 new businesses across the country.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, who is also Minister for Economy & Transport said: "This important project will provide a valuable range of services to help new businesses take their first steps and support them through the difficult early stages of starting a business."

According to business locations advisory service Businessfacilities.com, Wales attracts almost ten per cent of foreign investment to the UK despite its population making up five per cent of those living in the UK.

Inexplicably, both The Sun and The Daily Mail have chosen today to flag up their respective campaigns to support British business. Obviously, Smarta is delighted the national press feel so responsible for the welfare of the nation's small businesses - but we're taking them head to head. Read on for the 'save our small businesses' campaign class of the titans...

The Sun

Column inches: As well as having Alan Sugar in a Lord Kitchener-esque 'your country needs you' pose taking up half the front page, The Sun has devoted pages six, seven and eight, and a special eight-page pull-out to their cause. 10/10

Celebs: Alan Sugar is the Sun's commander-in-chief, but there's also an impressive endorsement from John Wright, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), who says he 'salutes' the paper's campaign. Mandelson and Cameron also voice their support. 9/10

Advice: The paper has surpassed itself: not only is there a seven-point manifesto bringing attention to such issues as deferring VAT and prompt payment, but there is also an open letter to Gordon Brown, 10 'Golden Rules' for small firms to survive the crunch, and advice on which banks are safest to invest in. Special patriot points for making the manifesto a pneumonic which spells 'British'. 8/10

Graphics: Union jacks ahoy. A little bit overdone, if we're honest. 3/10

Total: 29/40 - Plenty of column inches indicate a firm commitment to the cause. Well done, The Sun.

Daily Mail

Column inches: Points for the front page banner headline, but the small firms campaign gets a measly double-page spread inside. 5/10

Celebs: David Cameron has written a column - and that's it. Poor show. 4/10

Advice: Cameron's column is distinctly unhelpful, attacking Brown's 'frankly ridiculous' corporation tax, but an eight-part small business charter is meatier than The Sun's manifesto, with sober advice on what needs to be done to rescue downturn-ridden businesses. 8/10

Graphics: None. 0/10

Total: 17/40 - While the Mail's manifesto is solid, its unwillingness to devote space to the cause leaves us with a distinct feeling of commitment-phobia. Better luck next time...

What with Royal Mail workers doomed, big banks being frauded, and general recession depression, today we would like to offer you something a little more uplifting.

Sock and Awe is a lovely little web app game where you get to throw shoes at George W Bush.

It's also a stunning example of how quickly the switched-on web entrepreneur can turn out a fun and instantly popular product. In a few hours the guys at soon-to-be-launched comedy website Pop Jam created this on the back of the news that - well, if you don't know the news story you ain't gonna get the game.Also neatly creating a bit of pre-launch buzz around themselves and reaching a big audience through viral marketing in an incredibly innovative way. A great bit of PR - remembering not to annoy people, to get people involved and make things enjoyable. And using the power of word-of-mouth and the internet to get the name and idea out. Big marketing ticks all round, and pretty big smiles too.

What with Royal Mail workers doomed, big banks being frauded, and general recession depression, today we would like to offer you something a little more uplifting.

Sock and Awe is a lovely little web app game where you get to throw shoes at George W Bush. It's also a stunning example of how quickly the switched-on web entrepreneur can turn out a fun and instantly popular product. In a few hours the guys at soon-to-be-launched comedy website Pop Jam created this on the back of the news that - well, if you don't know the news story you ain't gonna get the game.

Also neatly creating a bit of pre-launch buzz around themselves and reaching a big audience through viral marketing in an incredibly innovative way. A great bit of PR - remembering not to annoy people, to get people involved and make things enjoyable. And using the power of word-of-mouth and the internet to get the name and idea out. Big marketing ticks all round, and pretty big smiles too.

What with Royal Mail workers doomed, big banks being frauded, and general recession depression, today we would like to offer you something a little more uplifting.

Sock and Awe is a lovely little web app game where you get to throw shoes at George W Bush.

It's also a stunning example of how quickly the switched-on web entrepreneur can turn out a fun and instantly popular product. In a few hours the guys at soon-to-be-launched comedy website Pop Jam created this on the back of the news that - well, if you don't know the news story you ain't gonna get the game.

Also neatly creating a bit of pre-launch buzz around themselves and reaching a big audience through viral marketing in an incredibly innovative way. A great bit of PR - remembering not to annoy people, to get people involved and make things enjoyable. And using the power of word-of-mouth and the internet to get the name and idea out. Big marketing ticks all round, and pretty big smiles too.

 

After weeks of grumbling, whining and surprisingly belligerent discounting, it seems this weekend, the Christmas fairies (in London, at least) finally granted retailers’ festive wishes, with a surprise upsurge in shoppers boosting pre-Christmas takings.A source told Smarta the Oxford Circus branch of music retailer HMV saw a jump of more than 80% in year-on-year sales, while the rest of London saw a 20% year-on-year rise over the weekend, with a million people spending about £120m on the capital’s streets.A spokesman for John Lewis, where computer games sales soared by 500%, told The Metro the company had expected the surge. “We have always felt with Christmas Day falling on a Thursday, Christmas will be coming late this year.“We had a nice increase over the weekend and we are expecting it to get even busier. Most people probably stopped work on Friday so they effectively have a five-day weekend,” he said.Sadly, while London’s retailers were celebrating, the news wasn’t quite so rosy elsewhere – on average, sales across the country were down 8.7% from last year, but retailers have remained resilient. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said even though sales are down, things are beginning to look up.“While conditions remain tough, retailers have reacted with high-profile price cuts and promotions,” said the group’s director general, Stephen Robertson.“This, together with the recent reductions in VAT and interest rates, has meant in the last few days shoppers have come out in force. Some retailers will now dare to breathe a sigh of relief that customers are simply delaying their Christmas spending, rather than cancelling it entirely.”On that cheery note, Smarta is taking a break over Christmas, but will be back at the beginning of January. Until then, merry Christmas – and here’s to a recession-busting 2009.Image by Beatbull on Flickr - vielen Dank!

Worrrd.Smarta’s new favourite Twitterer is 90s hip hop lothario MC Hammer, who has taken time out from warning people against touching this to launch a sort of YouTube for dancers, DanceJam.In an article on the BBC earlier this year, the baggy-trousered rapper was adamant he knows his technology. “There is no high-tech lingo or business strategy that you talk that is above my head. I breathe this stuff,” he insisted.It seems Hammer has had the entrepreneurial bug all along – Smarta can report the Twitter feed presents the reader with a real insight into the man behind the music, giving a voice to someone who was previously without a platform to share his experiences – untouchable, if you will.“I refuse to deny access of my experience & expertise to the people who made me. My Fans”, he proclaimed earlier today. A statement which is, if somewhat ineloquent, is nevertheless revelatory about the nature of the extraordinary generosity he feels towards his humble followers.While you’re waiting for Smarta’s launch, then, why not check out @MCHammer when you’re having a business crisis? Consider the following nuggets of Hammer wisdom – we particularly admire his creative use of “speech” marks, rhetorical questions and, of course, the bible quote:

• "Perhaps "sales" is no longer the "measuring stick"... then "profits" decline and in that model there is no longer an attractive business ... Sales have to be a significant factor if "music" is the product. There must be profits in order to sustain the business."

• "Did the marketing campaign convert to sales? Now you question the "art" of the artist... I question the "skills" of your marketing plan."

• "Converting a "critic" to a "buyer" is a tough proposition... the behaviour is "give me the product" and I'll "give you my opinion"."

• "If you cannot see yourself accomplishing your goal... it won't happen."

• "The music industry (1.0 ) is dead and being reborn in 2.0 ... to get ahead and find your place as a PR or marketing person you must adjust.. the economics will reflect the reality of the current economy.. the biggest opportunity is in establishing the new "Validation" of a hit."

• "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)"

Thanks, MC.Image from Flickr.

OMG!!!!???!?!?!?!?!?????!!!!!!???!!?! WTF?!?!?!??!????!!!!!?!??!?!?!???Does it annoy you when people over-punctuate in emails? Does it really, really annoy you? Does it make you wish that each of those superfluous exclamation marks could in fact be peeled from the screen, rolled at the tip between your forefinger and thumb into a sharp point and forcibly inserted into a 10 cm high voodoo doll of the person who sent you the email?If so, then we need not even speak of the vile scar upon the state of the punctuation of the western world that is the wink emoticon.Yes, this oh-so-kooky combination of semi-colon, dash and parenthesis screaming “I’m such a cheeky chappy I’m practically Robbie Williams!”, is, with regret, the subject of today's blog. For a Russian entrepreneur has now copyrighted the wink emoticon.Yes that’s right, copyrighted ; - ).Oleg Teterin, the entrepreneur in question, is president of mobile ad company Superfone. He reportedly assured the public that he has put the trademark in place only to prevent large corporations from using ; - ), but even this seems strange. Either the Russian trademark office has gone completely bonkers, or (possibly more likely) they are taking a cut of any proceeds Teterin makes from breach of copyright pay-outs.Either way, the initial shock of the news has diffused into a gentle glow of joy within me. Either this is a piece of entrepreneurial genius, allowing Teterin to make millions from breach of copyright and discovering an inspired new market set to change the way we use language, or, and this is what I really hope for, the entire matter will be exposed for the sheer insanity that it is and use of the wink emoticon will become fully illegal in every country across the globe.

It’s that time of year again. While across the nation, employees are waking up with a sore head and unsettling memories of their Christmas party expatiations on why the company should definitely be investing more resources in personal effectiveness workshops/improved toilet facilities/shares in Woolworths, those who have elected to go down the entrepreneurial route find themselves faced with a more trying dilemma: the company Christmas card.Today is the Royal Mail’s second-class deadline for Christmas post, and with the recession having put thoughts of Christmas cheer firmly at the back of most entrepreneurs’ minds, Smarta can appreciate there may be something of a commotion when it comes to getting cards written and sent by the end of the day, and is taking the pressure off with a time-saving guide to help you decide what kind of company Christmas card is best for you:

• The charity card – The design on the front may be bordering on the crap and the greeting inside may be off-centre, but it’s alright, because it’s printed on recycled paper and the money goes to blind orphans. Alright, after the printing costs, the cost of the packaging, the transport, and the VAT, 2p of it goes to blind orphans. But it’s the thought that counts... right?

• The a-religious greeting – work for a local council and worried you may offend your non-Christian associates by alluding to the nativity? Best not to mention the c-word - stick to ‘Season’s Greetings’ or a very a-religious 'Happy New Year' instead. Or, as in the case of one company, do away with any mention of the time of year altogether and simply wish them ‘Happy Season’. Ahh.

• The product placement – what’s that little Johnny, sitting by the fire, eyes aglow with Christmas cheer, is unwrapping with such excitement? A soldering iron? Why, that’s just what every little boy wants! God bless you, ACME Soldering.

• The corporate reminder – December is a great time of year, because it means as long as you put it in a coloured envelope and hand-write the address, people will definitely open their direct mail. Sod robins and snow-covered vistas, you’ve got printers to sell and by god, you will sell them.

• The e-card – in this time of economic hardship, it’s important to be frugal and sending out 1,500 emails is much, much cheaper than sending out 1,500 Christmas cards. Points to US venture capital company First Round Capital, who forewent reindeer and elves and instead persuaded all their investees to do a little dance a la wherethehellismatt.com to show their Christmas cheer.