Business is like a game of Jenga. It might look sturdy at outset, but it only needs a couple of pieces to be moved and before you know it you are staring at a pile of wooden blocks on the floor and wishing you had played KerPlunk instead.

Start and end

It can be incredibly hard to build and scale a business and it does seem particularly hard within our sector.

And this leads me conveniently to my first point — start with the end in mind. If you cannot see what your future could look like, then you will never leave the present.

Business is like a game of Jenga

Having a vision can be difficult in itself, given most people do not plan beyond what they are having for lunch.

Commitment

So you have your idea or brand, but then what? Well, quite simply you commit to it.

If you believe that your business idea is the best idea around, then absolutely nothing should stand in your way from achieving it.

This is obviously easier said than done, because you will face a constant stream of doubt, rejection and setbacks the sheer volume of which would make even Timmy Mallet seem unenthusiastic at times.

The business needs feeding and it only eats money, so do not starve it

But coffins are lonely places. There is no point laying in one with a notebook full of good ideas.

Having said that, failure will be your best friend in all this. You will not learn a huge amount from the peaks; it is the troughs that will help you find your character and get you through.

Do not be lulled either into the hypnotic, synthetic world of social media, which is all teeth, tans and Teslas. Most of that success has been paid for with bounce-back loans.

Start with the end in mind. If you cannot see what your future could look like, you will never leave the present

If you want to know how your competitors are really doing, do not read their posts. Go read their accounts at Companies House. You might soon see that there is not much substance behind the style. Once you stop comparing you start growing.

Nurture the business

If you are fortunate enough to have given birth to a business, you are duty bound to treat it the same as you would your own offspring. The business needs feeding and it only eats money, so do not starve it.

If you want to know how your competitors are really doing, do not read their posts. Go read their accounts at Companies House

Keep it safe from danger where you can, and you do that by treating it with the respect it deserves. Keep your business alive today and it will look after you for the rest of your life.

If you have got so far as to be up and running, it is now a numbers game. Yep, that is it, that is the secret. Cancel the MBA course — I have just saved you £30,000.

Quite simply it is now all about your activity relentlessly hunting down an opportunity. Get busy. Something good will happen eventually.