Fellow blogger John Crickett is busy writing a new book: The Big Book of Business Ideas, and he needs your help.

John needs business owners to use as case studies and some ‘from the trenches’ advice on starting a business like yours.

What do you have to do?

Just take a few minutes to complete his questionnaire.

What’s in it for you?

Everyone who responds (and wants to be mentioned) will get an acknowledgment on the book’s website, all the case studies will be published on the his Business Opportunities and Ideas blog and the best ones will be included in the book – Giving you free publicity!

Every successful business starts with an idea. If you haven’t been immediately struck with inspiration, then coming up with a concept for your small business can be difficult and frustrating. However, there are some tried and tested methods you could use to come up with an idea that suits you.

Firstly, you could try doing some research into current start-up trends. The UK government publishes statistics on start-up types as part of their Small Business Service. Mintel also conducts market research on the growth of different sectors. It is generally advisable to enter a market sector that is either already well-established or is growing rapidly. Although these sectors will be crowded, at least there is a guaranteed market there for you to fight for a share.

Some entrepreneurs find it easier to look for gaps in a market and attempt to fill them. For example, if you learn about products that are doing well in other countries then you may be able to adapt them for sale here if no-one else is doing it. Other variables such as the location of your business and its opening hours could result in a business opportunity. If you can find a gap in the market that there is a genuine demand for, you could be on to a winner.

Other entrepreneurs have found business success simply by taking old ideas and breathing new life into them. Try to work out why a previously popular idea has been on the decline and then come up with a way of making it popular again. A small business can be very successful just by taking an existing idea and doing it better or differently to everyone else.

The Internet is a great way of modernising an existing concept. Many successful web enterprises are based on very basic ideas that have simply been adjusted to make the most of technology. The Internet can add extra value to many business ideas, either because of the 24/7 convenience it provides or by how it simplifies things that were previously time-consuming.

If you are determined to invent something unique, look for problems that require a solution. New inventions can be a legal minefield involving copyrights and patents, but some of the best business ideas are often things that are so simple it is hard to believe no-one else thought of it first.

For more inspiration, follow me on Twitter or become a fan of WinWeb on Facebook. I look forward to connecting with you!

WinWeb’s Pitch of the Week winner this week is Kelvin Thom, the owner of Digistar Solutions. Kelvin started Digistar solutions in March this year and his story is typical of small business owners across the world; that owning a small business is hard work, but that he wouldn’t change it for the world.

You can read more about Kelvin’s small business story on the WinWeb Business Blog.

I recently came across a competition aimed at small businesses and thought I’d share it with you, my readers.

HSBC are running a campaign entitled 100Thoughts, which is taking place on Twitter. People are invited to tweet their business pearls of wisdom, including the hashtag ‘#100thoughts’ for the chance to win some great prizes; including an exclusive 1-to-1 consultancy with a world renowned business person (to be announced soon).

All you have to do it tweet your thought and you’re entered in to the competition. And remember to keep an eye on the #100thoughts feed – there are some gems of advice in there!

I eagerly watched the election coverage and comprehensively read your manifesto. The Conservatives election promise of “Change” and that of the Liberal Democrats of ” A fairer Britain” have compelled me to write to you in this way and raise some important points on how I believe you could create change and a fairer Britain for over 90% of all businesses in the UK. These points take in to consideration the fact that the majority of businesses within the UK are small businesses. There therefore needs to be specific guidance and legislation put in to place for these businesses, instead of only for the selected few large & multi-national corporations.

I think it would be difficult for you to be unaware of the burden that SME’s have had to shoulder since the Governments’ action in order to bail out the Banks. Thanks to the sacrifices made by many these banks now enjoy plentiful profits and bonuses – a stark contrast to those whom have financed their survival.

Outlined below are the issues that I consider to be most pressing in order to help SME’s and by increasing the success of small businesses will help to improve the UK’s economy on the whole:

1. Project and Order Financing: Banks need to be made to provide the needed finance for SME’s in order to fulfill contracts and orders. Any growth financing needed in this respect should also be financed. As SME’s represent over 90% of all UK businesses the level of finance available to them should reflect this accordingly.

2. Legal Security and Fairness: The United Kingdom is a place where any person – whether in business or not- should be able to live in a situation of legal security and fairness. This is, however, removed from our current reality. I would like to draw your attention to proposals made by HMRC, which could see accountants being forbidden to give even basic financial advice to their clients. This penalises small businesses, which can ill-afford to pay out for expensive legal advice. This puts bigger businesses at an unfair advantage over their small business counterparts. HMRC – and any other government department – should ideally operate a free information service, which provides free written and binding advice to the public as well as to businesses. The proposed changes in legislation are divisive and give small businesses little chance of success.

3. Reduce Red-Tape: As an extension to the above point, reducing red-tape will not only help keep business competitive, but will also allow the Government to make the savings that are so urgently needed to get us out of the financial crisis we find ourselves in. In order to appreciate this, it is necessary to realise that even the smallest of businesses are operating in a Global economy.

In order for the full economic potential of our SME’s to be realised they must be able to operate on an equal footing with emerging markets. It is also imperative to understand that each time new regulations are created without consideration to the impact these will have on small businesses, these businesses automatically become less competitive in the global economy. This is not only detrimental to the small businesses themselves, but also to the UK economy. This practice weakens our economy and has to stop.

4. Invest in the UK’s Digital Network: Given the way the election was played out, the political establishment must be aware of the importance of our digital network. We not only live in a global but also in a digital economy. In order for SME’s, who generate of 50 % of Britain’s GDP, to participate in this digital economy and export their products and services through and via the Internet, it is necessary to be considerably more ambitious in terms of the bandwidth and speed of internet access which is available across the UK. This will allow an increasing number of people to work from home, run businesses from home and decrease pressure on other parts of our infrastructure, such as motorways and the rail-system. Our digital network is not only our digital highway, but also our business highway for future GDP growth.

I am acutely aware that it would be unwise to spend a significant amount of money at a time when the main priority must be to reduce the UK’s deficit. It would, however, be possible to incentivise business to invest in these infrastructures. Having built one of Europe’s largest ISPs in the 90’s I am certain that a good, long-term, business model is possible in order to finance such a super business highway

5. Fair competition: Within the UK, SME’s generate over 60% of new innovations – innovations that are fundamental for Britain to grow and do business in the future. I consider it fair and just that equal opportunities are given to SME’s when it comes to public sector projects. In the interest of fairness it is necessary to end the practice of giving projects only to large multinational corporations – which often fail or run massively over budget – while better and more innovative solutions are available at a fraction of the cost. SME’s are British businesses; they cannot move their Headquarters with little warning, something that often happens with multinational companies. SME’s are loyal to Britain; it should be the British Governments’ duty to return that loyalty.

SME’s employ 50% of our private sector workforce; it would therefore be reasonable to expect that a 50% share of public opportunities are secured as jobs within the SME sector.

6. Invest in Small, Not Big, Business: Governments have the tendency of supporting multi-national companies such as General Motors whose management teams struggle to understand how the markets are moving and are mainly concerned with increasing their profit. Every time one of these businesses is propped up with public funding, new innovations are being killed off by keeping these inefficient and badly managed corporate giants afloat. It is my opinion that investing in research and innovation within both the SME sector and universities would be a significantly better way for the UK Government to spend its money. Our economic future relies, and is dependent upon, innovation – not wasting money upon old-fashioned business models.

The mortality rate of SME’s in the UK is still over 50% within five years of start up. Implementing the changes outlined above would go a long way to significantly reducing this extortionate mortality rate. These actions would not only benefit SME’s but would also improve the British economy; boosting GDP and reducing unemployment. A system to bring about change to Britain while creating a fairer society needs to focus on our SME’s who are, without a doubt, the lifeblood of the British economy.

CEO WinWeb.com

To the readers of my Blog, please contribute to this discussion; add any additional points, and tell me if you agree, or even disagree, with any of the points I have outlined above. Let’s get this on the agenda, build some momentum and help bring “Change!”

The UK Election was held on the 6th May 2010 – and here we are, the 11th May, will still no way out of the political wilderness that we currently find ourselves in. We have an unelected Prime Minister in power, with a party the British Public have lost faith in residing in the cabinet. In my opinion the way the political parties have been behaving since 6th May has represented everything that politics should not be; manipulative, scheming and underhanded.

The Liberal Democrats and Labour are offering us political reform, and there is talk of a system of Proportional Representation; and in the same breath people are saying what a mess this Hung Parliament is. But under a system of Proportional Representation this is the situation many countries find themselves in – with the smallest party holding a considerable amount of power. At a time when the economy is spiralling out of controlling, and our British credit rating plummeting in the wake of electoral uncertainty, electoral reform has somehow managed to take centre stage – surely our politicians should be focused on our economy; rather than highjacking the political landscape to make their demands on peripheral issues.

On Friday the Conservatives entered in to discussions with the Liberal Democrats in good faith, but in my opinion this looks like it was a red herring to save the Liberal Democrats’ reputation when they move on to discussion with the Labour Party. It seems that there were secret meetings between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party that the Conservatives unaware – in my view this suggests a level of dishonesty from Nick Clegg’s party that wreaks back to Old-Style party politics and all that was wrong with it.

I am deeply concerned about SME’s in the UK who, in the past, have been penalised and punished by Labour, not least by the Capital Gains adjustment from 10-18% that is placed on the value of their business. This will undoubtedly continue as the Labour Party in the past, in my view, have a record of misguided policies and actions. Not least:

- The multi-billion pound loss on the sales of the UK Gold reserves, which was overseen by Gordon Brown.

- The continuous involvement of politicians in the war in Iraq – Jack Straw lied to the UK, World and UN Security Council about the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Iraq. This shows a party ethic that I certainly want no part in.

- The Labour Party reform of the Lords with breathtaking announcements of peerages to House of Lords for Peter Mandelson and Alan Sugar, plus numerous other dubious appointing.

- The continued promises for small businesses funding when the Labour Party couldn’t even get the UKs’s books to balance.

- Dragging UK politics in to the gutter and running it through the media desk rooms.

In my opinion the Liberal Democrats fell at the first hurdle by allegedly deceiving the Conservative during their negotiations and secretly meeting with Labour. This displays old style politics, not the new way of anti-sleaze politics that Nick Clegg promised. I believe that this is full of the sleaze and underhand dealings that British Politics should be trying to avoid.

I believe that only the Conservative Party can help small and family business – these businesses account for 90% of businesses in the UK, 50% employment and 50% and GDP in the economy. These businesses have and will be ignored a Lib-Lab coalition. Although, I believe that it may be the best for the Conservative party if the Liberal Democrats don’t accept their offer allowing the Conservatives to walk away from this today and end this ridiculous horse trading. The aim now has to be for the UK to hold a General Election, and soon.

Any so-called ‘Rainbow Coalition’ can never be stable or work in the best interests of the UK. The fabrication of such a coalition is, I believe, a complete disgrace and certainly not in the interest of the electorate, as England will pay a heavy price for the support of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in a Rainbow coalition whose only purpose is to hold office and who, in my opinion, will quite happily sell the country out in order to get in to power.

As many of my readers will know I come from Germany, a country that has been limping from coalition to coalition, with some of the best councillors having been ousted by a minority party. The damage that can be caused by this can be devastating for the economy and the country in general.

My fear is that many of the political elite are simply not telling the truth about what it would be like to live under a coalition and the reality of Proportional Representation. The market reaction that has happened this morning, with the pound plummeting, has shown the economic ramifications that come from an uncertain political landscape.

I usually avoid getting involved in politics, as I believe that it is murky at best, but this ridiculous behaviour by our so-called leaders has irritated me to such a level that I feel compelled to speak out about my fear for the future, especially for what the future may bring for SME’s.

Election 2010, with all the live debates, bickering and electioneering, has resulted in a ‘Hung Parliament’. The press has been warning us of the dangers of a Hung Parliament, and the Politicians have been telling us to tactically vote in order to prevent it from happening. It seems, however, that the General Public have been unable to come to a clear conclusion about which party should rule our country.

So, what is a Hung Parliament? In Great Britain we have a ‘First Past the Post’ political system, meaning that the country is divided in to various constituencies, each of which holds a seat in parliament. In order to have a majority government, a political party must hold 326 of these seats in the houses of parliament. A Hung Parliament occurs when a political party, whilst still holding more seats that the other parties, fails to reach an overall majority by holding the 326 seats that are required.

In the event of a ‘Hung Parliament’ there can be a coalition formed between the current government and other minority parties, or the political party with the most seats can form a minority government. Neither of these solutions is good for the country; a coalition government works on bargaining and deals, where as a minority government, as they hold a minority in the Houses of Parliament, will struggle to have policies passed.

Both of these solutions can create instability for the country, and weaken us economically. Fiscally, our International credit rating would drop in either situation, and in an uncertain climate the impact of this is so far, unknown. In reality, very little change may happen within the country as there is no clear majority within Parliament. A coalition government is somewhat more stable, with more powers to pass policies, and works successfully in countries like New Zealand.

What is to come for Great Britain in the wake of this General Election is unknown until it becomes clear where our leaders will go next. BBC News declared this as a “time of uncertainty” and we, as a country need nothing more than certainty right now. I am deeply concerned about the impact that this election result will have on small businesses. At this time we all need to pull together, offer advice and support and keep focused on our business goals.

The WinWeb.com Small Business Competition that I mentioned in my last blog post has made me think about the way entrepreneurs work and the effect that a surge of entrepreneurship could have on the economy, worldwide.

In the UK alone, SME’s account for 99.9% of all enterprises, providing 59.4% of private sector employment and 50.1% of private sector turnover. In fact, small businesses alone accounted for 47.9% of employment! (statistics from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills).

In this time when unemployment is rising, and the economy is weak, investment in SME’s could help reduce unemployment and bring a healthy boost to the economy.

If small businesses alone provide 47.9% of employment within the UK, giving small businesses more opportunities, easier access to funding, and greater support could not only pay for itself but also increase the GDP of the UK.

But, this change in thinking does not just have to start with adults. Children in our schools, teenagers and young people, need to be given inspiration and a “can do” attitude – the attitude of the entrepreneur. If we can instill in our children, and generations to come, the ethic and attitude that allows them to think that it is possible to achieve and be successful, while at the same time teaching them about the realities of running a business, then we could create a generation of entrepreneurs, and build the economy, and country, on a “can-do” attitude.

Increasing the number of SME’s within the UK will increase employment levels and have a great impact on GDP. But before we can do this we need to capture the spirit of the entrepreneur and rid generations of the “can’t-do” attitude.

As Barack Obama said: “Yes, we can change”. Entrepreneurs can change our country, change our economy and change the world.

Are you onboard?

As regular readers of my blog you will know that I am passionate about small businesses, and want to see the awful mortality rate of small businesses fall dramatically. That is why my company, WinWeb.com, have started a regular feature to help small businesses to increase their profile, and even improve their SEO.

WinWeb.com are running a weekly competition where you can pitch your small business idea or service, free of charge, on their Facebook page. Then, all you need to do is get your clients, customers, affiliates, friends and family (thanks to Cole, see comment 5 below) to vote for your pitch using the “like” button. The only catch is that it has to be 110 characters maximum, plus a URL for your business; making it easier for Tweeting!

Got more to say than the 110 characters will allow? Why not upload a video to You Tube, then add it to our Facebook page. WinWeb.com will then feature it on WinWeb TV, gaining your small business even more exposure.

The competition will run Wednesday to Wednesday, and the winning small business will be that which has accumulated the most votes throughout the week.

The prize? The winning small business will receive a professionally written blog post featured on the WinWeb.com Business Blog linking back to a URL of their choice, on any issue to do with their small business. This article can then be used to promote a new product, service or just to raise awareness of their brand. I will also feature the WinWeb.com Business of the Week on The SME Blog, gaining more valuable publicity for your business and extra links back to your website.

There is no catch, just free publicity for your small business, and some great written copy for the winning small business every week. All I ask is that you respect this offer, and don’t post any links to ‘dodgy’ websites, any such links will be promptly removed and the user reported to Facebook.

I look forward to reading your pitches, and learning more about your small businesses!

The WinWeb Facebook page can be found here, you really have got nothing to lose!

I’m a great believer in social media as an avenue through which small businesses can build a customer base and engage with influencers within their specific sector. Entrepreneur, Shama Kabani (formerly Hyder) also believes in social media marketing. Seen as an expert in her field she has released a book entitled “The Zen of Social Media Marketing”.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Shama this week, and spoke to her about why she wrote the book, and what’s in it for small businesses.

Shama wrote “The Zen of Social Media Marketing” as she was aware there was an acute need for such a book; she was constantly being asked, even by successful business people, how to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to enhance their business. These people often didn’t see the point in social media, and disliked the concept of it – she wrote this book to engage and capture that audience.

Social media is becoming a platform on which business deals are started, and completed, and is a great way to build a buzz around your brand. Shama is passionate about the effect this could have on small businesses, so her book incorporates elements that can help everyone from a social media novice through to a marketing coordinator looking for social media tactics that could work for their business.

With case studies throughout, and strategies to guide you, “The Zen of Social Media Marketing” offers something for all levels of reader.

Shama believes that social media should become an integral part of your brand, running through every vein of your business, do you agree?

You can buy “The Zen of Social Media Marketing” here. Shama Kabani can be found on Twitter @Shama , or you can watch fantastic short videos of her online marketing tips on Shama TV – soon to be featured on WinWeb TV. Keep your eyes peeled, and let us know what you think!