Real Business

Here's what I got:

• “Who wants to keep the Business Link?” 45 hands
• “Who wants to get rid of them?” 5 hands
• “Who doesn’t care?" 70 hands

I don’t mind people being "for" or "against", but not caring is a real problem.

The plot then thickens...

I write a blog and get over 200 comments in total. I am gobsmacked. I didn't think that people cared that much....

I did a very quick message count and the split was roughly:

• 15 per cent say it is a good thing
• 15 per cent say it should be closed now
• 70 per cent say it should be changed

We now have a small sample of people who care enough to want to change it.

So is Business Link really so dreadful?

I have been sent a fair mix of stunning testimonials and ghastly stories. Some Business Link people flame me for stoking the fire when all I am doing is providing a platform for the debate. They kindly send me some "independent" research that conflicts with 85 per cent of my small sample and shows how most of their sample loved the service. Why does no-one believe these reports?

All I can do is try to clarify the key strands of the debate:

• Can any government ever deliver a first-class service?
•  Is the state the best body to provide enterprise support?
• Are funding targets political vote winners (eg help all those start-ups and small businesses etc) or the best for the economy (eg invest in more reliable growing businesses for a better ROI in terms of jobs etc and let the weak die)?
• Do the current interventions have any impact?
• Do we get value for money from the £190m spent? Is it spent in the most sensible manner?

The jury is out. But there are a lot of very cross people out there. I thought they didn’t care about Business Link – but I was wrong. People do care about the concept of a business support industry. People want an environment that encourages and promotes entrepreneurship in all its many forms. How difficult can it be?

Robert Craven spent five years running training and consultancy programmes for entrepreneurial businesses at Warwick Business School. He's been running his own consultancy since 1998 and is described by the Financial Times as "the entrepreneurship guru".