Treat accounts as a detective game - just one bit of evidence

Your detective work will help to form a view but never invest any money before you have carried out the critical check. Meet the senior management team, they are the people who will either make or lose you money.

Q Are we doing enough to provide our future leaders career opportunities and guidance from a young age?

A The straight answer to your question is definitely “No!”. We can never do enough to prepare young people for the world of work and probably never have done. I don’t know whether things have got worse but thankfully I’m pretty certain that even a poor education won’t put off a budding entrepreneur.

We should always look for ways to improve business links with schools but I’m wary of think tanks and councils producing guidelines and codes of practice — official reports may tick political boxes but make little difference.

Thankfully there are plenty of people who are making the right moves. There are teachers with first-hand experience of business and many schools teach students interview techniques. More businessmen than you may think visit universities to talk to students.

Work experience really works when the organisers become more worried about giving young people a real feel for business and less concerned with filling in the risk-assessment forms. An encouraging recent trend is company involvement in Academies and Free Schools thus creating a natural and direct link between young people and a local business.

We should never forget that it is our job to teach recruits about business, that is what apprenticeships are for. Schools that teach business studies are a bonus, but school leavers should be equipped with a basic understanding of maths, English and day-to-day discipline.

We, in turn, must have the courage to give our young people the responsibility and experience needed to become confident managers.

I am optimistic. At Timpson we find a constant stream of enthusiastic recruits who will clearly be capable of running the business well beyond the day when I have to hang up my cobbler’s hammer.

Don’t be put off by teenagers who spend too much time on Twitter and Facebook. You are likely to find that they are as bright as a button.

Q I’m a freelance training provider delivering specialist, face-to-face 28-week courses. I find it increasingly difficult to have the courage to put up my fees. In 15 years, my charges have hardly risen at all. I’m scared that an increase will push my hirers into the hands of alternative providers. Have you got any advice?

A By waiting so long you have made matters much worse. It is always best to change prices little and often. What are you frightened of? If you put your fee up by 5pc would your business disappear? I am sure you have been guilty of some expensive pessimism. Do yourself a favour, be bold.

Some businesses can cut costs and use cheaper imports to keep prices at the same level. You can’t. If you give face-to-face training courses there are few economies of scale to be made.

You could try tweaking your product. When I raided our biscuit tin last week I found an 'original’ Penguin. It isn’t like the original Penguins I enjoyed as a child — it might taste the same but is half the size. It’s time to forget your fears and simply put up the price. I am sure you are worth it.

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