I don’t work for the BBC, but I saw this and thought it could be worth watching and worth telling my blog readers about it too. It’s a Panorama programme looking at small businesses like ours. More than 100 small businesses are shutting up shop each day, according to the Federation of Small Businesses, which predicts some 30,000 firms will have gone bust by the end of this year. In an attempt to turn the tide, the government has come up with proposals including the £1.3bn Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme to throw small businesses a lifeline. Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis, examines whether the banks are doing enough to support small businesses.

Watch it tonight: Monday 23 February BBC One 8.30pm: Panorama: Credit Where It’s Due

I’ve just done another one of my training workshops this week, I really love doing them. It’s such a great opportunity to enthuse people about working for themselves. Whilst it takes a lot of effort on my part, in terms of organising, administration, travel and post-event activities; but once I’m there in front of my trainees, I get real energy from the whole thing. I usually come home feeling exhausted but fired up too! It’s the same, whether I’m doing one-to-one training or in front of a group. Is there anything in your business that gives you energy and fulfilment? What do you enjoy about your work?

The news seems to be getting even gloomier on the global recession. Interest rates are down to an historic all-time low of 1%; which is great if you’ve got loans and mortgages, although not so hot if you are a saver! However, I want to put my stake down to say that I am doing really well; I’ve got more clients and continually get calls and enquiries about work. I support small companies and traders with my virtual assistant business, so perhaps I am in a good business, providing office support without staff costs. What other business is doing well? What are the upsides for you in this recession – are you doing well?

So, Stephen Fry is an active user, Barak Obama has over quarter of a million followers – and now I’m online with Twitter! If you don’t know what all the fuss is about (or maybe you haven’t even heard of it), Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? I will be running a series of tele-seminars so you can learn how Twitter can bring you more business – check out my marketplace listings soon! Are you on Twitter yet? Are you enjoying the experience?

If it’s not snowing (the biggest flakes I ever saw on Sunday night), it’s raining and cold, which turns to sheet ice overnight. I’m never sure whether my daughter can get to school, or my staff can make it to work! On the flipside, the wild fires in Australia look awful, even more so if the rumours about arsonists following nature are true. Whole towns have disappeared, whole areas devastated, the resultant landscape is catastrophic. I don’t profess to know anything about global warming, and I don’t really want to start a debate about it in this blog; I just wanted to know whether this weather is what we can expect from now on – the wild variations?

So here we are, a few days from St Valentine’s day. The gift shops are stuffed to the gutters with heart shaped offerings, and the card shops the same - a bit gruesome, if Wikipedia’s explanation is to be believed! There are all sorts of Valentine-themed events, whether its dances and balls or singles nights at the local supermarket. Probably the only worthwhile things are the charity events, such as the Kiss for Bliss. The special care baby charity are organising a World Record attempt to form the longest kiss chain in London. But what do you think of Valentines Day? Great as a focus for consumer businesses in their post-New Year promotions; or blatant commercialisation of tradition.

The new US president is about to impose a ceiling on the executive pay of companies who have received a US taxpayer bail-out. The ceiling will be $500,000 (around £350,000) - or $100,000 more than President Obama receives! This seems to be a measure to placate the American public, outraged that these executives still received their huge payouts after the State rescue. However, the move is an initial step in a wider attempt to overhaul executive pay practices. This is something that has been much discussed in the UK; what do you think, should executives from ‘rescued’ companies still receive bonuses and exalted pay?

So it snowed in Britain this week; schools were closed (much to the kids’ delight), motorways shut; thousands of people didn’t make it into their place of work –allegedly costing businesses millions of pounds. I am very fortunate, as I do not have far to travel to get to work, and so was at my desk at 8.30am as usual on Monday morning. I am thankful that I didn’t have to go into London, as it appears there were no buses or taxis available either! Have the severe weather conditions affected your business?

I heartily recommend any Terry Pratchett books. If at all possible, try to start with his first book, “The Colour of Magic”, and work your way through, chronologically, so you’ll recognise the characters as they reappear, however, any of his novels are a stand-alone hoot!

Terry is an intelligent writer, hilariously funny observer of human nature, a slightly sarcastic philosopher whose gentle irony does not scrape its claws on the blackboard of your soul, and yet he leaves you thinking… and wanting more.

Sometimes he is so funny I have to make sure there is no-one else in the room (apart from my partner or daughter, both of whom are used to the odd mwaaaah! coming from my direction, when I am reading one of his Discworld novels).

Read and enjoy!

What software did you get. I simply take time to learn how to use it. If it is designed well, the setup is simple and figuring out how to effectivly use it should be logical to some degree.