Luke's Columns

Since I wrote about my business problems here a month ago, I have received more than 200 communications from readers — many discussing their own difficulties, and almost all of them remarkably supportive. I will not identify any of the individuals, but their messages provide some fascinating insights. First,…

I have always preferred smaller, growth companies to big business. To me they have more character, more potential and they feel more alive. I accept that some of this bias is irrational, and I would still much rather have more big business than more big government. An instructive new…

Entrepreneurs must have a sense of urgency, because markets and competitors never stand still. Trade only lives in the present or the future — yesterday is irrelevant. Inevitably, then, companies rarely think about last year’s results, old products, shuttered companies or previous bosses. Often it feels as if business…

As you may have noticed, I’ve been absent from this column for some months — and while dealing with the disaster at Patisserie Valerie, I doubted my belief in entrepreneurship. But one’s faith in the human spirit is always boosted by meeting young people. I recently spoke to a…

I used to think that stress was for wimps. How wrong I was. I had enjoyed a fast-paced, demanding career. I thought I could cope with anything. The truly shattering aspect of the collapse of Patisserie Valerie was that it happened so suddenly. With many corporate failures — the…