Keeping your staff up to date with skills and training can keep you ahead of the game during tough economic times but can you afford the time out? Louise Druce argues you can't afford not to.
It's a catch 22: when you're trying to run a small business the last thing you want is to lose the majority of your workforce in one swoop so they can take time out of the office to train. Then there are the costs to consider. However, if you don't train your workforce, you're in danger of falling behind the competition, which will prove far more costly in the long run.
Nearly a third of Britain's entrepreneurial businesses consider a lack of talented staff a major barrier to growth over the next 12 months, according to research by Deloitte.
Dragons' Den judges James Caan and Deborah Meaden and social entrepreneur Karen Darby are some of the successful entrepreneurs who feature in our exclusive videos. 
Join our social media discussion group and share your Twitter username with other BusinessZone members. 
We're putting together a list of business owners' must-haves.