0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence

We're an online store selling branded outdoor clothing and equipment for kids.

5-10 seconds: What's the business model?

Good products, good choice, good value and good customer service.

10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?

Other outdoor retailers, both physical and online.

15-20 seconds: What's your USP?

We are a one-stop shop offering a broad range of brands and products specifically for active outdoor kids.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so far?

Self-funded from savings and a small inheritance.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?

We have quite varied backgrounds but mainly working in retail and marketing.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come from?

A love of being outdoors, a desire to work for ourselves and inspiration from other successful online retailers.

35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done so far?
Not let the economic downturn put us off - Virgin started during a recession too.

40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?
Launching too close to Christmas.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what would it be?

We'd be a selection box, offering lots of loved and trusted brands in attractive and exciting packaging.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous of?
Wiggle - they have turned a traditional bike shop into a very successful international online business.

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12 months' time?

We will have expanded our selection of brands and products and we'll be delivering to customers throughout Europe, North America and beyond.

For more information about Zac and Mo click here, www.zacandmo.com

The aim of #McDStories was to get people talking about their great memories of the fast good giant but it was soon hijacked by animal rights activists and other dissatisfied customers who insulted the restaurant's morals, standards and service.

"My father used to take us to McDonalds as a reward when we were kids. Now he's horribly obese and has diabetes. Lesson learned #McDStories," is just one example of the messages being tweeted.

The promotion was pulled but the hashtag kept growing with negative responses. On top of this, #McFail also started trending in regions all around the world.

With this, and other examples of how social media can damage a business' name, fresh in mind, the research and consultancy firm, Social Media Influence (SMI), has put together a free guide to help your business monitor its reputation.

SMI Editor, Bernhard Warner says these social media catastrophes occur because marketers fail to grasp that the public has the final say with social media. "Marketers should understand that not everyone loves their brand and they should be prepared for a worst case scenario. Social media has killed off the idea of the safe, carefully scripted marketing message," he says.

The Social Media Crises Plan can be downloaded here.

0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence

CubeSocial is social customer relationship management (CRM) for professionals - we enable people to easily manage their contacts, tasks and social media conversations to win business through social media.

5-10 seconds: What's the business model?
CubeSocial has a simple subscription model. The price is a flat £9 per user per month, but we also offer a free account that allows you to manage up to 500 contacts.

10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?

We are primarily competing against traditional contact management and CRM systems that simply "don't get" social media. On the other hand there are social media management systems that are designed for retail and B2C companies but are just not suitable for B2B or professional services use.

15-20 seconds: What's your USP?

We are the only product specifically designed for professionals, such as people in financial services, lawyers and consultants, to interact with social media.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so far?

We have bootstrapped our start-up so far, but we plan to take on external funding during 2012 to accelerate growth.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?

Linda is former Executive Director and COO at Morgan Stanley and Mark used to be Lead Program Manager at Microsoft.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come from?

When we went out and asked businesses what they wanted the overwhelming answer was new ways to win business. At the same time, we were experimenting with social media and achieving surprising results. We saw how traditional best practices still applied online and how we were able to reach a much larger - yet more targeted - audience. This realisation formed the basis for CubeSocial.

35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done so far?

We have only used CubeSocial to promote the business through social media. To date we have gained local, national and international press coverage, all without spending a penny on marketing or PR. One marketing agency told us we had received publicity worth tens of thousands of pounds through our own efforts.

40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?

Giving too much time to people asking for free advice. We have now learned to identify and cut out time-wasters much more quickly.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what would it be?

A new twist on an old favourite - like a pack of Mini Digestives. We take your social media chaos and break it down into easily digestible chunks.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous of?

We're not jealous of anyone, but we do admire Jeff Bezos at Amazon for spotting the commercial opportunity of the internet so early and executing the idea so brilliantly.

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12 months' time?

We plan to have implementations with global firms and firmly establish CubeSocial as the social CRM of choice among professionals.

For more information about CubeSocial, click here www.cubesocial.com

0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence

JUNA opens a whole new world of flavours to consumers.

5-10 seconds: What's the business model?

We're building a successful supply chain between small farmers and their families in rural Colombia and the high street in Europe.

Juna means 'parcel of land' in Sáliba, one of over 60 native languages still spoken in Colombia today. For thousands of small farmers in Colombia their juna represents their home, their physical and spiritual link to nature and their primary source of subsistence and economic independence.

10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?

We compete with makers of smoothies and fresh juices that are delicious, natural, healthy and sustainable. However, there is no comparable lulo or guanábana drink on the market; we have a clear differentiator because we offer flavours that are totally unique.

15-20 seconds: What's your USP?

The new fruits we offer - lulo, guanábana and mora - but also the supply chain we have built between Colombia and Europe.

We seek to make a positive impact on the communities growing the fruits for our products, opening new markets for small farmers and their families in Colombia.  From each bottle sold 5p will go towards the JUNA Project, designed to strengthen fruit grower associations in remote areas of the country.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so far?

For the first steps we used our savings. Then we had to look elsewhere and we have found a healthy combination of a small business loan and private investors who believe in the product, the concept and the people.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?

I was advising companies and industry associations on EU trade policy and food regulation. Related to JUNA in theory but very little in practice.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come from?

I travelled to Colombia for the first time in 2001 to visit my Colombian girlfriend (now wife). One of the things that has always fascinated me most about Colombia is the delicious fruits of the Andes. Why should Europeans be deprived of these flavours?

35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done so far?

Having complete faith in excellent colleagues.

40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?

Not taking a year long holiday before starting JUNA.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what would it be?

The one nobody had tried before and now everybody talks about.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous of?

Reserving random domain names before the internet became massive and then making lots of money by selling them.

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12 months' time?

In at least three or four national markets in Europe.

For more information about JUNA click here, www.junafruits.com

Daniel Price and Jonny Sitton started the company as a home business in 2009 and, after six months of preparation, launched their website in January 2010.

Since then, they have risen from shipping one or two orders a day out of their north-west London home to owning a distribution centre in Northampton and taking on huge contracts with Interflora and John Lewis.

Now they are looking at a possible £1m turnover this year and have their sights set on conquering Europe.

The mammoth rise in their profile originated from two specific points.

For a start they had the foresight to modify already established personalising equipment to make it work with baby clothes. "No one else was doing it. We had to have a frame re-engineered for it to fit small shoes. That was our original unique selling point," says Price.

They also adapted a very specific kind of marketing. "When we first launched, we sent gifts straight to celebrities and it just spiralled from there. We used clever slogans to get celebrities interested and tweeting about us. It worked well," he explains.

The pair utilised celebrities' positions to show how personalised the products could be. Dannii Minogue received blankets with the message, 'Mummy's got the X-Factor' while Elton John's gift featured a line from his classic, Your Song, 'How wonderful life is now you're in the world'.

However, it was a blagged entry to number 10 Downing Street with a gift for the Prime Minister, which really showed Price's dedication to getting the business to the top.

The idea for My 1st Year's first project, the personalised high top trainers, came from Nike's iD shoes. Having seen Nike's success, the pair of entrepreneurs noticed there was no similar product for babies.

From there, finding funding was easy. Bank loans weren't on the agenda and the first private investor who saw the vision and motivation of Price and Sitton gave them £50,000 for a 28% stake in the business.

Along with their unique personalisation for baby products, what makes My 1st Years so successful is the next day delivery option, which appeals to every family member's desire to be the best grandma, cousin or any relation.

Despite my1styears.com already being top for personalised baby products, they are determined to become the largest company for all baby products and are exploring European markets with a translated website. However, at the moment, there are no plans to blag their way into Nicolas Sarkozy's office.

How did you start JaJaJa Books?

I worked as a teacher in Spain for many years and saw children on the continent are bilingual from a much earlier age than they are in England. I thought we could encourage this here through storytelling to get children engaged and wanting to learn without realising they're learning.

When I was learning Spanish, if I was in an exam situation and there was a word in a sentence I didn't understand, I would look around in the context to see if I could guess the word. That's why the books are predominantly in English with Spanish words slipped into context to help children learn.

Did you have previous business experience?

No. I have quite a varied background. I did a linguistics degree with Spanish and within that I studied child language acquisition. That gave me grounding in that side of things. I became a private tutor in Spain so I worked with children and languages a lot but I had never actually written a book.

I always wanted to and I have always been passionate about getting children in Britain to start learning languages earlier. Then the company I was working for lost funding and I thought, "I either go for it now or never".

How did the JaJaJa Books name get out to the public?

I self-published the book with the help of a lot of friends in a lot of different disciplines. I've got somebody who is in PR who did a great press release for me. I got into local press and did interviews with magazines. I also go around to schools and do story times with children up to eight years old.

The books are in a lot of independent book shops and on Amazon; it's a whole host of different strands really. Social media has been absolutely amazing.  It's crazy how many sales I get from Twitter.

What's your history with learning languages?

I studied French and Spanish at A level so, while Spanish is my main passion, my French is pretty good too. I recently went to meet a Japanese girl as I like the language. She is looking into the possibility of turning the books into Japanese.

I have a lot of ideas of how to expand the brand. I want to go into other languages and maybe other ages but my whole aim is to target children because they don't realise they're learning a language half the time. They don't have the inhibitions we have as we get older. They're like sponges.

So other languages are the future of the business?

I would like to just expand it so it looks better as a brand. Languages like Chinese and Japanese are ever growing and I think it will be good to encourage children to take on another language.

A lot of schools say they are already doing French so they don't need Spanish but I truly think when they're young, it doesn't matter how many languages you expose a child to. They can take their pick when they get older.

Did you always work from home?

As soon as I started JaJaJa Books, it was all from home. I write the stories at home. All the phone calls and press releases I put together and all the social media sides are done from home too.

Does anyone work with you in the business?

I have a team of friends and family who volunteer but no paid employees. I have a best friend who is a graphic designer and puts together all my press releases and promotional material. My friend in PR does a lot too.

I just have a brilliant team of support around me. My husband has always said to me:  "This is your passion. You have to go for it."

What's the best thing about running a business from home?

The flexibility and having home comforts are great for writing. I don't think I could write if I had to be anywhere else or I was distracted. The flexibility means I can plan my day and say to myself: "I'll do these phone calls this morning and then this

I enjoy it, I love it and I really look forward to working when I get up. I hope it lasts.

And the worst?

It can be very lonely. I've worked in offices and sometimes you miss the banter. I also have a dog and a cat and they can sometimes be noisy during a very important call, which can come across pretty unprofessional.

The loneliness was very bad at the beginning. You don't have the chit-chat going on in the background but that can be a nightmare too.

What would make your life easier as a home business?

More hours in the day and more hands. I take on a lot with this business and, even though I have a lot of people helping me, in time I'll need to take on more people because JaJaJa Books is growing so quickly.

Maybe it won't end up being a home business but I would like to keep it as it is. I try as hard as I can to do everything myself but I think I'll have to hire extra staff even though it's scary to make that leap.

A truly inspirational Home Business Hero. For more information on Genevieve and JaJaJa Books, visit: www.jajaja-books.com

Home Business Heroes is sponsored by

One industry that is always in full bloom at the start of every year is the prediction business. Yet amid all the apparent certainties of the next 12 months the converse of prediction is also gaining in popularity. In its latest issue American business magazine Fast Company spotlights the emergence of what it describes as 'Generation Flux' - an evolving workforce having to contend with a declining visibility of the future. "From the rise of Facebook to the fall of Blockbuster, from the downgrading of US government debt to the resurgence of Brazil, predicting what will happen next has gotten exponentially harder," the magazine argues.

While it remains fashionable to characterise the year ahead as one laden with unpredictability, the evidence used to support this view is still surprisingly selective and possibly too hastily assembled for comfort. At Index B we have taken a step back and created the Ones to Watch report, a shortlist of real companies that are as likely as any to embody the decade ahead. While the companies that have been selected are exemplars of broader business trends, collectively they also mirror the true business landscape of today in which smaller companies are the more dominant species.

Above all, these businesses are on trend. Take the transition in the use of internet from serving communication and entertainment needs to more functional, less sexy areas. Three of the firms featured in the report demonstrate this admirably. Evernote offers an ingenious way of capturing fragmented scraps of information that might otherwise escape our memory; Dropbox has simplified the business of accessing the things we keep online, while Groupspaces makes it less of a chore to organise work and leisure activities. All three are technically small businesses because they employ fewer than 250 people, though one of them was valued at $4bn last summer.

With the Smartphone set to become the most iconic device of the second decade of the 21st Century, companies involved in mobile applications might be expected to feature. Proxama is one of many involved in turning mobiles into payment devices, yet recognises this may require multiple routes to market rather than one killer app. Elsehwere, Metaio is a pioneer and leader in the game-changing technology of augmented reality, which allows mobile users to access, understand and enjoy digital content overlaid on the physical world. Again they are both small businesses.

Looking at sustainability, perhaps carbon emissions seem less important when debt and currency crises stalk the globe. So it will be interesting to follow the fortunes of companies like Closed Loop Recycling, which has repurposed 20% of the UK's plastic bottles and turned them into food-grade plastics. Also Whipcar, which has become the world's fastest growing car club in the space of 18 months, enabling car owners to share vehicles with neighbours when they're not in use.

The full report illustrates just how far small businesses may evolve over the next decade and shape the business world of the future.

To download the full report, click here

When David Richards headed to Silicon Valley from Sheffield 13 years ago he may have dreamt of one day running a successful tech firm, but he didn't expect it to happen. "I went there with my girlfriend and two suitcases and we said we'd try it out for six months. Now we are married and live there with our two children," he says.

A co-founder of WANdisco, an acronym for wide area network distributed computing, Richards met business partner Yeturu Ahhlad at a drinks reception in Palo Alto. "Yeturu is one of the top two or three people in the field of distributed computing, which is basically the way we send things over the internet. He was asking for advice about how to get an idea funded, but he had already solved the problem he had - to do with something called active-active replication over a wide area network - so I suggested we just build the business rather than look for funding," says Richards.

WANdisco makes an open source product, called Subversion that is free to download and free to use for developers. "Half of all the software in the world is developed inside Subversion and that is pretty far-reaching. We make our money by selling an enhanced enterprise version to big companies and our customer list includes companies like HP and Goldman Sachs," says Richards.

Things have moved fast since the launch - over the last couple of years WANdisco has grown 50% every year and are now getting ready to join the AIM on the London stock exchange this April.

Three years ago the firm opened a large office in Sheffield, now employing 30 people. "We have an HQ in Silicon Valley and one in Sheffield, 90 per cent of our sales are into the US market but the products are made in Sheffield. The jobs we are creating in the UK are not the call centre jobs or support positions that US companies normally come here for. We are building core intellectual property in the UK," says Richards. "When we went to Sheffield rather than London, there were some raised eyebrows, but there are a lot of dinosaurs around, particularly in the UK. As far as I'm concerned if you are on the internet it really doesn't matter where you are located."

WANdisco was built without venture capital funding and that is the way Richards prefers it. "I don't think venture capital is very good for early stage start-up companies. You can get lazy and focus on the wrong things. In my first venture funded business we were more concerned about the colour of the carpet and the logo and all that other stuff that really is tangential and should take second place to making money," he says. "I see too many people go to a venture capitalist because they want someone to fund their payroll. But that is not the definition of an entrepreneur; that is the definition of somebody who is not willing to take a risk."

According to Richards the customer should be at the centre of everything you do in a business. "Steve jobs said you can't give people what they want you have to tell them. That is all well and good but when you are a small start-up you have to build something that solves a real problem. The best people to define what you should be doing are the customers," he explains.

With experience on both sides of the Atlantic, he has a unique insight into the differences between the US and UK tech markets and he says it is wrong to assume Silicon Valley can be emulated in the UK. "It drives me bonkers when people ask if we can build a Silicon Valley in the UK because we can't. Silicon Valley exists because of Stanford University and it produces two kinds of people, MBAs who go on to become venture capitalists and great technologists and computer scientists. It is all in the same melting pot in the same area and that is why Silicon Valley exists," he says. "The UK doesn't have that set-up," he says.

Despite the speedy growth of the business Richards doesn't see it slowing down anytime soon. "Technology companies do achieve economies of scale very rapidly; some companies may plateau because they look at a singular market," he says. "We are definitely looking at expansion and I think we'll grow 50 per cent again this year."

Click here for more information on WANdisco, www.wandisco.com

The singer, who has enjoyed an illustrious solo career alongside his work with the progressive-rock band, moved into music production in the 90s and has now put his latest venture into an invite-only beta stage.

With his business partner, Ed Averdieck, Peter Gabriel is hoping to do to music licenscing what Easy Jet did to the flight industry.

CueSongs offers licensed music and recordings to anyone looking to use them on websites, in apps or on YouTube as well as the opportunity for artists to have their music used on these platforms.

Check out cuesongs.com to find out how easy it is to find great music to accompany your business.

Well firstly, it's important to remember an angel investor is different from your bank manager or a venture capitalist who invest other people's money. An angel is looking to put their own cash into your business. On the one hand, this is great as it means they can invest in whatever they want, and in general they don't have to see as large returns as a venture capitalist, so they can plough their money into smaller companies with a small target audience. However, it also means they're more careful and suspicious so you need to cater for their needs. Here's how you do that.

1. Sell yourself

You have to persuade them that their money is safe with you. They need to know you're responsible and trustworthy. They don't want to give their funds to someone who has a history of losing money on failed businesses or blowing cash on pointless accessories. So it's good if you have a track record of being sensible with money. And if you do have a few tainted years on your CV, make sure you explain why they happened and how this time it'll be different. There's no point trying to hide or gloss over your past mistakes, as it'll just show that actually, you are pretty untrustworthy.

2. Pitch

A confident pitch filled with statistics and knowledge of your business is essential. Angels will scrutinise your idea, so it pays to have a well written and informative business plan. We've all seen what happens when someone doesn't know their figures on Dragons' Den, they end up red faced and embarrased, don't let that person become you. Typical questions that an angel will expect you to address are, how you'll spend their money, how you'll protect their investment in future rounds of funding and what your exit strategy is.

3. Prototype

It's very unlikely an angel will give you money for something that's still just an idea. If you present them with a prototype of your product then they can actually see what they're getting for their money. If it's a website you should already have a domain name and a site up and running, and if it's a physical product you should have one made so the investor can test it out and decide if they like it.

4. Validate the business model

Try your hardest to get at least one customer. Having someone actually paying for your product already proves that people are willing to buy it.  This will give an angel some more confidence in your business and will prove to them you're serious about making money.

5. Do your homework on the investor

Approach an investor that's suited to your business. Someone who has the knowledge of the industry your business is based in and will be passionate about the whole idea. If you tell then exactly how you'd like them to help you and why you think they'll be good at it, you may answer the question they're asking themselves.

For more information on angel investors, click here