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Entrepreneurs Panel

Steve Purdham
Debbie Pierce
Richard O'Sullivan
Brian Hay
Gary Jacobson
Jeremy Roberts
Tony Caldeira
David Pollock
Ian Morris

Entrepreneurs Panel

Tony Caldeira

My co-director has been spending lavishly over the last couple of years and, while I know it’s none of my business how he spends his money, I don’t think the performance of our business justifies it. Should I be concerned?

Tony Caldeira

At a recent corporate event two of my female staff decided to put on a display of, ahem, affection for the benefit of the male attendees. Funnily enough, this isn’t covered in any of our staff policies but I don’t feel it can be left unremarked upon. How do you suggest I discipline them?

Tony Caldeira

My consultancy company does a lot of business abroad, involving frankly too much travel to project meetings for my liking by my senior team. I’m sure a lot of this could be substituted with videoconferencing but I don’t want to alienate clients. What do you think?

Tony Caldeira

I'm thinking about buying a low-end clothing manufacturer, which is making a small loss on its £2 million turnover. At the moment it still does all its manufacturing in the UK – is it realistic to think I can turn it around without offshoring? And is that really worth the effort for such a small business?

  • Turning excess lard into dough? It’s like taking candy from a baby. EN heads to the fit farm and examines a bulging bottom line.

  • EN visited the British Business Angels Association’s annual conference and found a sector torn between confidence and crisis.

  • Are we emerging from recession into an energy crisis? Probably not, as EN discovers.

  • EN and Downtown in Business hosted a wide-ranging panel debate following June’s emergency Budget. This is what happened.

  • Making money out of nurseries should be child’s play. Shouldn’t it? EN examines the real bottom line.

Five Minutes With

Frank McKenna has never exactly been shy about being the public face of the Downtown in Business brand, which he founded in Liverpool in 2004 and now boasts operations in Preston and Manchester (the latter launched earlier this year). His weekly, “Thank Frank it’s Friday” email missives, “Frankie Says” blog and Tarantino-inspired advertisements are cases in point.

Betta Living’s boss reminds us a bit of TV’s David Dickinson. But was his best transaction the Real Deal? Stuart Anderson hastily conceals his Ikea loyalty card as Noel Dean reveals...