2009: Choose your prime location, dig your foundations deep.

I was pleased to be James Max's guest on his LBC 97.3 'Business Matters' radio show tonight and offer what I hope was useful advice about starting anew if you have been made redundant, or are thinking about starting up a new business.  Now the tide is out, good businesses will hopefully be sitting on the sea bed, securely anchored by either great products or services, and 'average businesses' will be floundering.  King of Shaves was founded by me in the last UK recession in the early 1990's, and I spent the majority of the show answering questions from those thinking about starting up from scratch.  Perhaps the most telling telephone call, was from a 35 year old chap in the financial services sector, with 2 kids, who felt let down by his bosses, and wanted to start up.

If you're prepared to sacrifice material stuff in the short term, and decide what YOU want to do, now is a good time to try and do it.  It won't get tougher than it will be in the next few years, and if you have the support of friends and family, and are prepared to 'risk for reward' then try and use your knowledge to set up a business that you believe could be done better (mine was shaving) and start the long, hard and initially unrewarding job of digging foundations - making telephone calls, identifiying areas of interest and 'asking the audience' - ie market research.

We will see a great many new businesses start up during 2009, and for those of you who listened in, I wish you every success, which won't come overnight.  So, off with your watch, 'think deep' and start discovering what you think you can do.