Q&A featuring Peter Jones

I managed to secure a seat at the much sought after Q&A at the BT Business Experience. Unsurprisingly much of the attention is being given to Dragons' Den judge Peter Jones but the other representatives are also getting a work in. Here are the highlights:

After a female entrepreneur questions Jones about how she can boost her educational business, he says: "You're in a minority. We want and desperately need more female entrepreneurs." If we had as many female business owners in the UK as in the US, we'd have 800,000 more entrepreneurs.

Peter Jones urges entrepreneurs to be clever about the way they use technology.

Andy Berrow from Business Link says his organisation is getting an increasing number of enquiries from social entrepreneurs.

Bill Murphy from BT Business says the number of businesses being set up from home is growing massively. Technology makes this easier, he claims.

One entrepreneur asks Peter Jones how to sell his product to large banks. He says the route is through the back door, not the front. Rather than attacking the customer, go with the supplier. Bill Murphy from BT Business asks the entrepreneur to email him.

Peter Jones says many entrepreneurs are unable to have a focused and clear directional mindset. "We don't have an educational platform to teach people how to be an entrepreneur - fact," he adds. He goes on to say: "We have forced entrepreneurs coming into the market who have started a business because it's the only option. It's a cliche but we need education, education, education. We need a culture change in the UK. The mindset of the American person needs to resonate in the UK. If we had more entrepreneurs sat with the knowledge of how to become successful, this recession would be very shallow. While we blame the financial institutions, we have talked ourselves into it."

Peter Jones advises business owners with several parts to their business where one isn't working well, to concentrate on the bit that isn't. Focus where the money is, he says.

An entrepreneur asks Peter Jones while he has a stake in music (Hamfatter); does he have a passion for it? Lots of unsigned music acts are getting thousands of hits but struggling to find a deal, he says. Peter Jones says he'd be happy to listen to ideas for investment.

One entrepreneur, who runs a company which trains people in cold calling, asks how can she step away from the day-to-day stuff and spend time growing the business? Peter Jones says he had the same problem. He was micro-managing and realised he needed to train the trainer. "If your business is all about you, you need to find someone else who can do what you do." He warns of a pitfall though: if you train them well, they will leave you and set up their own business! Get a contract which locks you in, he advises.

Entrepreneur asks whether he should go on Dragons' Den. Peter Jones says if your business model is solid, yes. If not, don't bother. Quote: "There is a certain level of humiliation on Dragons' Den for some of the idiots we have to see."

Is all publicity good publicity? Peter Jones says if you do something edgy that's linked to your strategy it's much better than random PR stunts. It needs to be strategic and refined, he advises.