Columnists

Duncan needs very little introduction as he is the founder and chairman of The Bannatyne Group and part of the famous five from the BBC Tv programme Dragons' Den

Chris Barling is the CEO who co-founded ecommerce and EPOS systems vendor, Actinic in 1996. He has some 30 years experience in the IT industry. He is a prolific writer of articles and blogs for a large range of small business media.

A management consultant with over 15 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc. For the last 10 years, she’s worked with SME’s to improve their performance. Hilary is Managing Director of productivity specialists R2P Ltd.

Brad Burton is 4Networking’s director, author and speaker. No stranger to adversity, he started 4Networking four years ago, after delivering pizzas to make ends meet when starting up, and it is now the biggest networking organisation in Britain. Last year he published his first book, Get Off Your Arse.

René Carayol is one of the world's leading business gurus specialising in leadership and culture, drawing from his experiences on the boards of some of the biggest British and American organisations. He is the best-selling author of the influential “Corporate Voodoo”, a regular television and radio broadcaster for the BBC and was awarded an MBE for outstanding service to the business community in 2004

A highly experienced business and people manager, Hayley finally had enough of working for others and started Short Couture. Unable to find smart fashionable clothes for a 30+ petite working woman (she is 5’1”) she set about creating a business to fill that gap in the market. A frequent contributor to business forums, she also blogs about small business issues and is widely quoted in the business press.

Dr Steve Garnett is chairman for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region of salesforce.com. During his career, he has been a member of the executive management team of three start-ups, Oracle Corporation, Siebel Systems and salesforce.com, each of which became one of the world’s most successful software companies. He joined salesforce.com in 2004 to head European operations and helped take the company public that same year.

Mindy Gibbins-Klein MBA FRSA is founder of The Book Midwife® and Ecademy Press. Her clients have published over 300 books and consistently gain recognition by the media and the market as the top experts in their field

David Hathiramani is the co-founder of A Suit That Fits, which started as the world's first online tailoring company – now with 25 locations nationwide. In 2006, David and schoolfriend Warren Bennett combined their love of bespoke suits and passion for business to reinvent way the retail experience for suit lovers.

A one-time ‘Secret Millionaire’, Carl Hopkins is a Yorkshire  entrepreneur and marketing ‘guru'. Since selling his marketing agency JDA in 2007, Carl has invested in, and launched, a variety of businesses including Joblink solutions; a CIC that supports organisations that train people for work. He is also one of 30 entrepreneurs handpicked to attend Vince Cable’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum. You can talk to Carl by visiting www.kloog.co.uk

Peter Jones is one of the UK’s most sought-after divorce lawyers, founder of Jones Myers in 1992 and an expert in mediation. Former national chairman of Resolution, an organisation of over 5,000 lawyers which believes in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to family law matters. He has experience at the highest level in all aspects of financial disputes and is an expert on issues relating to small family businesses

Paula Jones is a Fellow of the Institute of IT Training, and the Managing Director of Sixth Level Training based in North Yorkshire, working with smaller business to maximise your investment in training, saving you time and money.

Harriet Kelsall is the proprietor of Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design Ltd, the UK’s leading bespoke jewellery design company specialising in bespoke engagement rings, wedding Rings and eternity rings. This year, the company has won a UK Jewellery Award for Business Initiative of the Year and Harriet has scooped the prestigious Woman of the Year award at the Spec

One of the founders of HomeServe plc, a FTSE200 support services company with a market capitalisation in excess of £1.5bn. Business angel Jeremy Middleton now owns Middleton Enterprises Ltd,  which backs businesses, generally from start-up, usually taking a minority stake and offering strategic advice to support growth. Jeremy is also Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Board, making him the party’s most senior volunteer in the country.

Charlie Mullins is the archetypal entrepreneur having started Pimlico Plumbers from scratch and building it into a multi-million pound enterprise. Always opinionated and often controversial, Charlie’s common sense attitude has earned him a reputation as one of the UK's most outspoken entrepreneurs.

Phil Orford is chief executive of the Forum of Private Business – a not-for-profit SME support organisation which was founded in 1977. Phil was involved with a number of start-ups and small companies before joining the Forum in February 2008. The FPB is one of the country's leading business organisations, providing business owners with the support, protection and reassurance they need in difficult times and of the UK's foremost small business lobbyists.

Andy Preston is founder of the Sales Training & coaching company Outstanding Results, He provides help, guidance and support to in-house sales teams of all sizes of organisations throughout the UK and Europe.

Every day Business Matters reporters will scour the web for the most important and interesting news to small and medium sized business and entrepreneurs.

If you have seen something you think we should be including get in touch via twitter @BizMattersMag or email online@cbmeg.co.uk.

Laura Rigney has been in sales all of her working life. After meeting various individuals who had developed fantastic products but who were unsure of the next step to take in selling these to stores she set up Pitcher House with the sole aim of helping individuals get their products listed by major retailers. Laura is also co-founder or Mumpreneur UK, the UK's leading authority on mums in business.

Sara Robinson, 30, set up communications consultancy Cake Communications in July 2011.  Despite having won numerous awards for PR campaigns she has devised and delivered, she is a relative newcomer to running her own business, which she juggles with raising a 4 year old son. Sara will be blogging on the challenges and adventures facing a new start-up.