Given the current economic climate, the recession and the job losses around us all, I believe that now is a great time to start a business. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and the government is creating a number of initiatives and making more allowances for SMEs to stimulate an environment of entrepreneurship.

The Financial Times Business Start Up 2012 is a fantastic beginner’s guide for anyone that is thinking of starting their own business. It’s a definitive reference guide that takes a reader step by step through all the components of starting a business and the pitfalls along the way.

The guide also goes into some detail about how best a business should position itself for raising money. Banks are just one option out there, but there are now many other routes to finance that entrepreneurs need to be aware of. Most importantly for me, is the focus the guide places on the business owner, that (s)he needs to better understand the motives behind the business drivers. After all, start-up businesses need to be confident about what their product is, and who is going to buy it.

I have always been a passionate believer that it is the people behind a business that make it a success and that with the right attitude and motivation there is very little you cannot achieve.