Small business advisor Julia Chanterey gives advice to small companies in Brighton, Hove and Sussex

Julia Chanteray has spent her life setting up and running different businesses and now helps small businesses who want to grow at The Joy of Business. She is the President of the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, and was the resident expert on Channel 4’s Risking it All

Why being a social entrepreneur isn't enough

I’ve recently been asked for help by someone who is running a (sort of) social enterprise. He’s been running a business, and on the side of this he’s been doing all sorts of community projects. All brilliant stuff, getting young people involved, providing services to the community - I’m not going to be specific in case you recognise him, but there were lots of great ideas for wonderful things.

Getting someone to invest in your business

Questions to ask yourself when asking someone to invest in your growing business.

How people know that you’re not serious about your business

I advise people who are serious about what they want to achieve and I can tell when someone is ambivalent about their business. If you’re not serious about it, why would someone bother to buy from you, or do business with you?

Seven ways to make the best of the recession

As the recession starts to bite, and we’re into a circle of reduced confidence leading to reduced spending, which in turn lowers confidence, the canny entrepreneur looks at how to make the best of it.