My first start-up was eBay.co.uk way back in 1999. eBay was already a public company and also profitable. International expansion was eBay’s focus with Germany and Britain first. I was an LSE student on an hourly wage.

The mission from the mothership in San Jose was clear. Make it happen now and account for every penny. In that age of dot.com largesse, eBay was stingy. No Boo.com extravagance for us. Our crap office was embarrassingly ill-equipped. They were ever so tight. Quite right too. We had to have all the hunger of a real start-up.

But we had something most start-ups don’t have: transplanted US executives bringing a “playbook”. Mythical and unwritten, they cited it daily. The yanks (all male MBAs replete with khaki slacks and blue Gap shirts) couldn’t see past it. Like aliens, they left as mysteriously as they arrived every now and again. They sought online banner deals with AOL, Yahoo and the like and they were dogged. They wanted to replicate the US success by repeating the same moves. The UK was just another planet.

We Europeans wanted a bit more though. We demanded changes to the platform for our local markets which were rarely forthcoming. Website changes were slow and reluctant. For the most part, I was on the blower, or out and about each day like others, building eBay one Del-boy at a time. I must have met or spoken to 100 stamp and coin dealers that first month with eBay. Plenty of people thought buying and selling on the internet was a crazy idea back then. We feared QXL. Yes, really.

But everyone shared a tremendous sense of urgency. To this day, I have never worked with a team that was so focussed on getting something worthwhile and amazing done every day. Get a result. Now is best. That was the idea. Report some progress. And every day in that summer of 1999 at eBay did end with a gaggle, where everyone was expected to report a result. Critically, it wasn’t an exercise in bullshit or evasion. The camaraderie and enthusiasm was such that you really did want to tell everyone about something brilliant you’d done.

It’s perhaps a blindingly obvious thing to say, but I’ve subsequently found it overlooked in other start-ups. As you look at the horizon, amid the chaos to build something brilliant tomorrow and build a 6-month strategy, can you honestly say you’ve had a good day today?

Here's a little video I've made with a bit of help from courier company MyHermes. There are plenty more on Youtube. So click through if you fancy.

If you haven’t heard about Small Business 2.0, it’s a day dedicated to small businesses who want to get a bit of online action and develop their biz. That could be building a brilliant website, ecommerce, search marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) social media, email marketing and all the rest. If we had a motto it would be “there are no stupid questions” because we recognise that plenty of small firms haven’t even begun to seriously exploit the online opportunity.

So what have we got at SB2 this time? Loads!

- Richard Kanareck from eBay will be in the house talking about developments there.
- The simply wonderful Emma Jones from Enterprise Nation will be hosting some of the sessions and be on hand to help out.
- The BT Tradespace team are sponsoring the event and the brilliant Ivan Croxford will be speaking.
- And we’ll have people on hand to talk Google, Bing, SEO and the rest from our host of exhibitors.
- And plenty more. It’ll only set you back a mere tenner.

It’s a good time to think about embracing the web, I reckon. Turning over a new leaf and learning new things is what January is all about. And the atmosphere at SB2 is good. We keep it informal and discourage the hard sell. Yes, we want to connect SMEs with service providers… but who said it can’t be a fun experience? There’s a bar this time so hopefully the time honoured British tradition of doing business over a pint will be in evidence too! People who came last time said they had a great day. Networking is definitely part of the fun and we can facilitate that if you’re shy.

And obviously I’ll be there. So it would be good to catch up. Incidentally we have a few spots for exhibitors left and if you’ve got a topic close to your heart we may be able to squeeze in a short talk or two. I may even have a few freebie tickets knocking around if you ask nicely.

Hopefully see you there.

There's more good news too. The internet will be playing a key role. Social networks and ecommerce will be fuel for this increase in homeworking.

At the event, held at One Alfred Place (a members' club and working space that I'd never been to before), I was struck by the many bullish comments I heard from the folks I spoke to. Of course it's tough and will probably get worse. But there's plenty of opportunity. Discipline is vital. Having confidence is critical. Don't believe what you read in the papers.

It's time for internet pros to realise that the majority of businesses in the UK are sole traders/partnerships and rarely have more than one other person (probably part-time) on the books. Nearly half aren't VAT registered. There's no techie to hand, let alone an IT department. My impression, not least from Small Business 2.0, is that there is a willingness to experiment and spend some money (even in these bleak economic times) but there is also wariness. And this wariness isn't related to more advanced aspects of operating online (PPC/CPC, SEO, blogging, social media) but as much about the basics. How can my small business get a website up and running? Is my website working hard enough? How can I ensure it's generating leads or sales?

None of these are unreasonable questions or absurd requirements and whilst it's massively disappointing that more small businesses aren't more advanced, it's where we are. And I think the web industry is partly to blame for having failed to embrace small businesses properly hitherto.

Why should internet folk take the time and energy to engage small businesses? Because the numbers make sense. It's a huge constituency that have some money to spend (admittedly not lavish budgets but these are straitened times) and they're ready to make the advances. In the downturn, I suspect that net folk are going to have to work harder than ever before to attract customers (which won't do us any harm). And it's time to start reaching out to small businesses on their own terms, rather than our own.

That's why the Royal Mail is to be commended for additional arrangements they're making this year to make delivery of online purchases (in fact any deliveries) easier. Collection hours at the local delivery offices are being extended from next week, there will be evening deliveries on 22nd and 23rd December and Sunday redeliveries on the 21st. Also, if you want your parcel redelivered to a local Post Office, the 50p charges is being waived.

These are seriously customer focussed moves. As someone who seems to join the long, long queue at just before 12:30pm (they shut at half noon!) on more Saturdays than I care to remember this all looks very progressive.

Oh, and for ref, the last postage day for domestic first class is Saturday 20th.

In other news. The smallbizpod piece and my own post regarding empwronline was picked up by buildaskill. Buildaskill bills itself a site dedicated to small and home-based businesses but why they would use an image featuring a Nazi rally in an article about eBay Australia is anyone's guess. The analysis of PayPal is of interest though.

2009 is going to be a critical for eBay's payments division. In Q3 2008, PayPal processed a greater volume of payments off eBay than on. Are we looking at a PayPal de-merger or acquisition? We shall see.

Of course, the 45p tax rate for earners over £150k warmed my socialist cockles. But two measures stand out for me as real boons for small business.

Reducing VAT to 15% isn't likely to send consumers running to buy Christmas presents, even if the £12bn or so it means will be swilling round the 2009 economy is very welcome. But, as one small business owner pointed out to me yesterday, it's good news for SMEs thinking about big spending. It's a good whack off a big purchase of say £20k. Yes, you can claim that money back (if you're VAT registered) but you do have to pay it in the first place and that can be a blow to cashflow. My friend said it was a 'good enough reason' to make that big purchase in 2009 rather than 2010. Job done.

Secondly, the willingness of HMRC to show flexibility to small businesses who are having difficulty paying their corporation and income tax, VAT and NI is significant and enormously welcome. The message is: pay salaries, creditors and suppliers first and strike a deal with the taxman about what you owe. Small businesses often exist with tight cashflows and even just a small buffer zone can prevent an SMB from going bust (especially when a bank has withdrawn an overdraft facility at short notice). We also know that when a small firm goes bust, it can very easily take others with it and that's bad. The banks aren't providing the slack, so the government is right to do so in times like this and I think this will make a big difference in 2009.

There's a lot to digest in today's announcements but, in the light of global difficulties, the goverment has made its position clear: we need to borrow now to stimulate the economy and avoid the worst in the next few years, some support is necessary for specific groups and sectors (including small businesses) and, yes, we're going to pay for this borrowing in the (better) years to come. We all wish it hadn't come to this (aside from the progressive 45p tax rate, which is long overdue) but here we are. And in the absence of any other substantive plan (and an awful loat of petty shouting from the Tories), I'm happy to have Brown and Darling at the tiller. Here's hoping we have a fair wind behind us.

Photo credit: HM Treasury.

I have previous with Willingham. It dates back a few years to the time she became Managing Director of the once great South London provider of takeaway curry: The Bombay Bicycle Club. When I lived in Putney, Hammersmith and then Battersea, it was something of a love affair for me. I couldn't get enough of the 'BBC's' majestic murgh dhansak ramro, the glorious onion bhajis or any one of a dozen fine and flawless dishes. I waxed lyrical, praised them, promoted them: I was not just a happy customer, I was an ecstatic one. I was spreading the joy. I'd tell people: you cannot do better.

And then Willingham took over in a self-confessed, ambitious landgrab with the aim of expansion. Within months, standards started to slip. The once super-prompt delivery became almost-late, perfect curries became merely pretty good and they started sending less generous portions of inferior of mango chutney. On more than one occasion they claimed to have run out of pilau rice and I think an Indian takeaway actually has to try pretty damn hard to do that.

I stuck with the Bombay Bicycle Club for a while, ordered less frequently, but my passion was dulled. It died completely when one day they sent a stone cold meal. I emailed Willingham (her email address was on the back of the menu) and she didn't respond. I never phoned for food again.

So when I see the unspeakable Willingham on The Restaurant sneering and criticising the (admittedly sometimes hopeless) hopefuls, I get a bit angry. This is the woman who destroyed one of the few brands and restaurants I have ever truly loved. She simply doesn't deserve to be in a position where she's passing judgment on others: physician, heal thyself.

She is the worst type of unimaginative, cost-cutting, 'process first' MBA who thinks that paying customers won't notice the penny-pinching and are willing to settle for less. Like the wife-beater, she thinks we'll stay because there's nowhere else to go. The balance sheet looked healthier, it's reported, and she's sold her shares in the business. Good for her. But she chose mediocrity over excellence. On her business plans 'customer loyalty' is probably a 'nice to have'. I don't think that's the Raymond Blanc way and it isn't sound advice for a budding restaurant owner.

Spotted this on ebay.co.uk today. Isn't Skype the internet phone service for small businesses?