Dragon mentoring prize up for grabs

SMALL business owners are being given the chance to learn from one of the UK’s highest profile entrepreneurs thanks to BT Business.

Following the success of the telecom giant’s Small Business Week firms one lucky firm will win two half-day sessions with Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones while five runners up will benefit from mentoring sessions with senior executives from BT Business’ senior management team.

The mentors in turn will be working with leading author and academic Professor David Clutterbuck.

Mr Jones, whose business empire now spans across numerous sectors, said: “It’s a crucial time for businesss and I’m delighted to be able to offer my support and advice to a worthy small business.

“Small Business Week was all about highlighting the importance of the small business community and I fully support it.”

Bill Muphy, managing director of BT Business, said that one of the main themes of Small Business Week was mentoring and that BT was now making entrepreneurs and business advisors available to the SME community.

“Small businesses are often too busy to ask for help, but research revealed that mentoring is something they feel they would benefit from,” he added.

Entrants must submit a brief application covering their requirements for business mentoring and what areas of the business they feel would benefit from this help.

For further information and to enter the competition visit www.bt.com/mentors. The deadline for entries is December 31.