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.

Yesterday we said that there was no good time to start a business, and that what really counted is the idea, and the attitude of the person wanting to start the business. However what we should have also said was, that although we’re currently in a recession there are different parts of the World who are on the up, and there are different channels that continue to grow at double digit rates.For every country where there’s a recession, there’s one that is on a business high, if you look at South East Asia, parts of Russia and Eastern Europe, then you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone talking about the recession, and if you look at countries like China and India, they’d probably wonder what planet you were on.But you don’t have to go to another country to find a market that’s growing in the double digits year-on-year, and a market that’s been growing at that rate or faster for the best part of a decade; and that market is the Internet.The monthly Experian high street foot-fall figures published today showed a high-street in the midst of the worst period in years with a 1.5 percent decline in shoppers visiting the high street compared to last year, and 3.4% fewer shoppers than April. However Experian’s data for the Internet in the UK showed a continued rise in traffic, and US figures from internet analysts comScore showed a year-on-year growth of 15%.So if you do want to start or grow your business this year, and you want to do it in a growing market, then you had better get yourself online, or you should start to learn Hindi, Urdu and Mandarin.Picture Flickr

If you trawl around the internet and through the papers at the moment, chances are you’ll come across an article entitled “Starting a small business in a recession” or “How the recession is the best time to start a business.”
The article will then point to all the big entrepreneurs who launched in a recession, and will give a rather short list of all the reasons why starting in a recession is a “great” idea. The list will include these old favourites; The competition isn’t as hot, so your customers will have to buy from you. You’ll be recession proof come the next recession. If you can make it work in the bad times, it’s guaranteed to work in the good times, and you’ll have a head start over the competition etc. Which all sound quite reasonable and valid reasons, but it’s all just hot air.We’re with Simon Woodroffe, who set up the sushi chain Yo Sushi. When it comes to the best times for starting up in business, and it doesn’t matter if there’s a recession, and it doesn’t matter if there’s a boom, what really matters is the business idea, and you. As Woodroffe says, “if you have the passion, the energy and the belief in what you do, then 'anytime' can be the right time to set up a business”.I’ve given up counting the amount of times people have asked me “what sort of business should I start?” If you’re asking that sort of question, it won’t matter if it’s the best of times or the worst of times, you just won’t succeed in whatever business you decide on.Image Flickr

Gordon Brown described the work of IT entrepreneurs as 'critical for the economy' and has pledged to break down barriers to innovation."I want to break down every barrier to innovation, whether it is our policy or our attitudes to regulation," said Brown at last week's Nesta Innovation Edge Conference in London and building on the recent government white paper “innovation nation” .At the conference the Prime Minister described the work of entrepreneurs, IT developers and academics attending the conference as "absolutely critical for the economy". Well he would wouldn’t he.While it’s moderately easy to get up in front of 3000 delegates and make promises it’s a bit harder to actually achieve those promises. The Innovation Nation report produced in March 2008 by the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills says very little. As usual, there are the normal promises and little actual cash or easing of regulations, just lots of recommendations that will no doubt be forgotten about next week.The report also claims to make “Britain the best country in the world to run an innovative business or public service.” Which is a bit of a mouthful plus it also sounds strangely familiar. As far as we remember the old DTI slogan was something like “to make Britain the best place in the World to do business,” well a fat lot of good that did.In the last World Bank report “Doing Business 2007” the UK was sixth in top economies behind Singapore, New Zealand, The United States, Canada and Hong Kong, and at the time Caralee McLiesh, one of the report’s co-authors put the reason for the UKs failure to keep pace with global change, as“The pick-up of reform in the UK has just not been the same as in many other countries,” she said.So unless Gordon Brown follows up on his promises, and really does break down barriers it looks like we’ll be, about as successful at innovation regulation reform as we are at winning the Eurovision Song contest, ie bottom place with 14 points, while Eastern Europe streaks into the lead - Georgia was named the most successful reformer in the World Bank report rising to 37th place from 112th last year.

As I write, the wind and the rain is bashing against the window, yet another disgusting Bank Holiday! All I can think of is switching on the heating and watching TV, while reading the Sundays left over from yesterday, unfortunately the gloom and doom isn’t just outside, it’s also in the papers.Oil prices are hitting new highs, so what’s the Government doing about it? Tinkering with taxes is the answer. On Friday the Federation of Small Business (FSB) called on the chancellor to scrap the planned 2p rise in fuel duty after oil prices hit a record high.The AA accused market speculators of driving up the price of oil. “Oil prices have doubled since last year and this is not just due to strong demand from China and other nations,” said Edmund King, president of the AA.Chris Hannant, head of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) , added that the high oil prices are pushing businesses to the ‘absolute edge’.“Sending a positive message to business would make a huge difference, and the government should start by announcing that they are scrapping the 2p hike in fuel duty,” he said.Tinkering with the prices and knocking off 2p, or 9p, or even 20p is not really going to make a huge difference. We just have to admit that that oil is running out and for the sake of the economy and business as we know it, we’re going to have to start finding some long-term alternatives that will replace oil. Oil underpins everything, it’s not only a means of heating our businesses, or producing electricity or transporting us from a-to-b, but it’s also the basic raw material for plastics and a million other things we use in everyday life.The AA, BCC and FSB, should start thinking about the long-term and not just the next six months. The current oil prices are undoubtedly a bubble that will burst, and prices will reduce, however, in six months time when the prices are lower it would be good if the AA, BCC and FSB were harassing the Government just as much about long-term solutions to oil, as they are about cutting a few pence off the oil prices.Image: Flickr

Rachel Elnaugh, one of the original Dragons, certainly seems to polarise opinion. Her fall from grace when her company Red Letter Days collapsed in 2005 saw the press unable to resist poking fun with headlines such as ‘Entrepreneurial guru goes belly up’.The release of her book telling her version of how it all went wrong, ‘Business Nightmares’, has been met, in certain quarters, with similar derision. Jonathan Guthrie’s piece in the FT was probably the harshest, if best written.I guess if you put yourself up to be shot at and make yourself a celebrity for criticising others’ ideas you’ve little room to complain about being machine-gunned down when it all goes wrong.Should that really be the case, though? It’s certainly how celebrity works but all sections of business frequently preach about the need to change our attitudes to failure. In the same breath, there’s almost always a call to support more female entrepreneurs (note Peter Jones rarely gets pulled up for his previous failures).Rachel’s business failed, but before it did it made handsome profits and generated significant wealth and employment.As the book sets about telling, the downfall of the company and particularly the reaction from the media, people she felt she could trust in business and the banks, knocked her for six.The whole process left her questioning her future as an entrepreneur. Indeed, her blog makes candid viewing of a rehabilitation that she’s seemingly still emerging from. Its popularity and the many messages of support she receives suggest she's certainly not alone.Whatever your view of Rachel and her role in Red Letter Days' problems, her plight surely isn't a healthy reflection of how we view failure.

Death by powerpoint might be one of the few things that come to mind when you hear the word ‘conference’. We can add a lot more to the list but that’s not the point of this post. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Take all the things you hate about conferences, turn them around, mash them up, and apparently what you get is an ‘unconference’.

Trendy term or something that reflects a real change in the way events could be conducted? We decided to put the SHINE unconference to the test. SHINE was instigated by four dynamic organisations (Ashoka, UnLtd, School for Social Entrepreneurs, The Hub) and aimed to ‘connect, inform, and inspire people interested in social change’.

The usual suspects of the Social Enterprise world were there in full attendance, accompanied by hundreds of fresh faces with admirable passion for creating positive change in the world and hungry to get the support they need to make their ideas happen.

SHINE certainly passed the test and was successful in breaking down the old conventions. The sessions were varied, informative, and in most cases organised for its attendees to solve problems and create real opportunities. The space used (the Bargehouse on London’s Southbank) broke down barriers and offered an ideal setting to create partnerships and friendships.

Next year’s NESTA conference has a few things to learn from it. Attendees are an event’s most valuable resource and should be the engine that drives it. Less lavishness, higher interaction, and more substance is just what the people are shouting for.

We leave you with our usual video taster of the event...

Some good news! The brilliantly-named Daisy’s Dog Deli has won a unique and really worthwhile competition to unearth the next generation of independent retail talent.Lisa Gosling’s pet bakery business, which sells nutritious, freshly-baked dog treats using only natural ingredients, proved the pick of 22 finalists who were given the chance to try out their business idea at a busy shopping centre.The competition run by Make Your Mark, RBS, The Bright Ideas Trust and The Mall was launched in a bid to unlock the UK’s enterprise potential and offer practical support to new retailers.Daisy’s Dog Deli traded in The Mall Bexleyheath in February and fought off stiff competition to win six months' free trade in her local Mall, a business mentor from RBS, and a place at the prestigious Oxford Keble College Retail Summer School.Lisa impressed customers and judges with her unique and innovative products, friendly staff and reasonable prices. Top selling treats included ‘Get Well Soon Muffins - low fat treat good for sensitive tummies and poorly pooches’; ‘Liver Brownie – hound heaven with organic eggs and garlic’ and ‘Cat Chasers – a low fat feline shaped cream cheese biscuit’.“Dogs and food are my passion and I saw a gap in the ever expanding pet market for wholesome healthy treats and food and went for it,” said Lisa.Tim Campbell, one of the judges and founder of The Bright Ideas Trust, added: “Lisa’s success over the competition period plus her obvious passion for her business made her a worthy winner.“It is thrilling to imagine how the support from The Mall and RBS will transform her business from just being a local initiative to potentially a national brand. Lisa is living proof that hard work and a Bright Idea can get you anywhere!”Well done to Lisa and kudos to the sponsors for trying something different and with real value to all the finalists.

Given the disastrous start to his tenure as chancellor, who can blame Alistair Darling for trying to build some bridges with business?Clearly on the back foot at last night’s CBI dinner, he admitted "getting business tax right is not easy" and said “he’d listened carefully” to concerns over recent policy.He also pledged to consult businesses on any further significant changes to taxes and would look to make cuts to ensure Britain doesn’t become the “fiscal fall guy” of the global economy."I also have to ensure that tax rates encourage investment by providing incentives to innovate and encourage growth," he added, before insisting once again that Britain was still a "good place to do business".Darling pointed to the government’s new ‘forum of business experts’, which will meet to discuss company taxation, to back up his point.Fair enough, I guess, but if it’s really going to ‘consult business’ shouldn’t it have at least one representative from small business instead of just ‘ten multinationals’? And why is the CBI (more big business), the only business group invited? How about the FSB, FPB? Heck, we'd even do it if it meant getting you lot a voice!The Chancellor does know that SMEs make up 99.9% of all the companies he taxes and contribute over half of the UK's business turnover, doesn’t he? Just checking.

For all the good he’s achieved, Sir Bob Geldof still isn’t liked in some quarters. Perhaps it’s because he’s always got something to say. Perhaps it’s because in a society where we’re spoilt for choice in so many aspects of life, some people don’t take well to a scruffy man who swears a lot telling us what to do with our money.Well Sir Bob didn’t say this during his speech at today’s NESTA Innovation Edge conference, but we’ll say it for him: Fuck them.We’re assuming the reason Bob hasn’t stopped telling the world what he thinks about anything from poverty to climate change to politics is because he doesn’t care if people don’t agree with him.He’s not scared to do what he thinks is right, even if he fails. He believes in change and doesn’t let the system, doubters or sneers deter him. He’s someone who’s acted on good ideas and made things happen. That’s because, more than anything, he’s an entrepreneur.Geldof believes entrepreneurs lead change and that it’s their ideas and innovation that can find solutions to the world’s problems. However, he fears an increasingly risk-averse culture is stifling that creativity and endangering the UK's entrepreneurial streak.”We so fear failure that nobody dares try anymore. But the essence of entrepreneurship is to try and fail, we need to celebrate the attempt of trying,” he said today."Let me tell you about the future, the future will have terrible wars, ones we can't afford, terrible academics - terrible economic crises. Everything is running out, we are running out of air, running out of land, running out of water.”Never has innovation, new ideas, progress and entrepreneurship been more required than now. There are no options but to address this in a coherent way. We are desperate for ideas and frankly the political body doesn't give it to us anymore."