What we need to tackle now is making the infrastructure and cultural change that will make growth and long-term development easier and more achievable for start-ups and micro businesses.

My biggest regret is not finding a mentor earlier on into my journey. I put this down to a lack of clear information about the specific types of mentoring services available and lack of transparency around the costs of their services.

It's not all about saving money, but it's clear that businesses are thinking about buying less, moving forward quickly without the baggage of ownership. Collaboration evens out risk and ensures people get proper use out of their assets, with less waste.

The concept of mentoring is becoming increasingly popular in the UK and more needs to be done to encourage businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, to get mentors and in turn give back through mentoring schemes.

Every now and then, a bit of slang comes along that draws a line between young and old, in 2012, that slang term was "YOLO". For those of you who don't know; the term YOLO was popularised by US rapper Drake and it stands for "You Only Live Once".

Speak to anyone about going into business and they may immediately think about starting from scratch. Yet there is an alternative. Entrepreneurs should reconsider establishing a startup and instead focus on buying an already successful business.

There were two reports at the end of last year significant to social media and retail: 'Understanding the High Street' by Mary Portas and 'Internation...