What are you waiting for? The country is apparently on a roll and interest rates are low.

The pundits are saying this is a prime time for new technology businesses to start up but the South-East is at the bottom of the new business chart.

We all know there are many smart people living around here. Clever people with business ideas.

You only have to sit in a pub for an hour or two and someone will tell you that they know a way to make a million.

Now is the time to put those ideas into practice.

So what should you do first?

Try phoning someone at the Sussex Innovation Centre (01273 7044320). They are extremely helpful and will steer you towards the right information.

Alternatively, give Sussex Enterprise a ring on 01444 259259 as they have a wide stock of advice and help for new businesses. They even hand out money on occasions.

What about those of you who run your own businesses already?

This is a great time to expand and try a few new ideas or explore new marketing concepts. The banks are keen to help and the public are crying out for new things to see and do.

Now is the time to see if that concept can be made into a reality before somebody else does it. How many times have you had a good idea and done nothing, only to see "your"

idea appear in a magazine a few months later.

Don't miss the boat, act now and enjoy the success.

The only real fly in the ointment is the jobs market in the South-East is more buoyant than ever. There are more jobs than people to do them, so if you want to attract top quality staff then you had better start advertising now.

The Argus advertising team is always prepared to help you to create hard-hitting recruitment advertisements so give them a call on 01273 544300 and see what can be done.

Attracting high-calibre staff is not always easy but with a little forethought you should be able to draw up a comprehensive list of benefits to attract the right sort of person to your business.

Benefits do not always mean wages (think: Sun, sea, piers, cold beers and clubs).

If you could offer your staff the opportunity to work from home (teleworking), make sure you put this in the advertisement.

Many people would really like to work from home and, providing a suitable communications infrastructure and monitoring system can be established, home workers are generally regarded as more cost-effective than those working from a central office.

If you are worried about all the overheads associated with starting out for the first time then how about developing a "virtual" office and doing business on the internet?

A post office box number (to receive cheques) and a web site is all you need to get started and the rewards are potentially enormous.

An internet business is no different from any other sort of business.

A good commercial web site needs constant attention so it remains interesting and fresh.

If you don't do any work, you won't make any money.

The internet is definitely not a free lunch but it is a cost effective way to get started.

Who knows what you could achieve. Why don't you give it a try?