If there was a magic formula to succeed in business then we'd all be running hugely successful companies. Sadly things are not that simple, but it is possible to highlight ways to increase your chances of success. How many of these qualities do you think you have, and which other ones do you think are needed for success in business?

Before you even start it's important to have a goal, to have that big dream where you are a successful entrepreneur. You will no doubt face set backs along the way, so having the big dream will give you something to focus on. Initially a dream might be all that it is, but at some point it will be necessary to come up with that all important business idea. Spotting an opportunity be it a gap in the market, a new invention, a new work practice is what being an entrepreneur is all about. You always need to be thinking about where to go next and what could be the next big thing. Being innovative, being the leader in your field will ensure you're always one step ahead of your competitors.

Of course that's when the hard work really starts. Getting any business off the ground takes a lot of dedication, persistance, organisation and money. You have to be prepared for what lies ahead - both good and bad - and the fact that you are going to be putting in a lot of hours. Initially, at least, you might not see much reward, but remember you are not alone. The road to success often requires risk and hard work. You will need to be very disciplined so that you stay on the road you have planned and don't get disheartened or distracted along the way. Far easier said than done when there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

The subject of pricing reared its ugly head again recently when my partner and I had a heated discussion about what price to quote for two projects we'd been invited to tender for. I felt my partner was going in too low and that we were undervaluing both the quality of the work and our time. He, however, felt that the quotes I wanted to give were too high and that we would lose out on the jobs. As ever in business we compromised somewhere in the middle, but it did raise the thorny issue of where we should set our pricing.

What you decide to charge for your product or service is one of the most important decisions you will make as a business person. Both too high and too low will cause you potential problems with your sales and cashflow and will affect the growth of your business. This isn't purely about new businesses as it's also important for established businesses to carry out regular reviews of their pricing to help improve their profitability. Plus, of course, new and growing businesses must always be aware of what their competitors are doing in terms of pricing.

When starting up a business, unless it's part of the core ethos of that company, it's very possible that environmental considerations do not rank very high when it comes to getting your business up and running. This, of course, is very understandable given the amount of time, money and effort that goes into launching a business. However, it's worth thinking about some of these stats, which will actually help you save money as well as helping your business to be at least a little but green.

It's great news that more women are starting their own businesses - up this year to 37% from 33% last year. This follows the trend we witnessed at the Business Startup Show where we spoke to a huge number of women planning to launch a business.

What's interesting is the types of businesses these entrepreneurs are planning to open. There's a very clear steretypical slant which may surprise many. Three of the most popular sectors are cleaning, beauty and hairdressing, while pet minders and cake makers also featured highly. However, as well as these the jobs of market traders and self-employed teachers and financial advisers were also popular.

While many of these seem like typical female roles, they are actually also a response to demand. For example, following the popularity of the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off programme an increase in demand for cakes led to a surge in cake businesses. Also, with more and more working mums there has been an inevitable increase in demand for cleaners.

Well, you're not alone as recent research by Business Link has found that although a quarter of employees would like to start a business a third are too scared to do so. However, what's interesting is that if those budding entrepreneurs did take the leap into business ownership and made a profit of just £1000 the UK economy would receive a massive £3.25bn boost.

With the varied support available to businesses including the £78.9m to be spent during 2011-12 on a number of programmes and initiatives designed to support UK businesses it would be interesting to understand what is holding so many people back. From our discussions with visitors to the recent Business Startup Show many people were concerned about finance, feeling overwhelmed by the tasks involved in setting up a business, not understanding what jobs they needed to undertake, not to mention the risk involved in possibly leaving employment to start the business.

All these concerns are valid and completely understandable. The good news is that they can, for the most part, be addressed.

Whether you are starting up a business or already established, business shows should definitely be in your diary - both from the point of view of a visitor and also as a business taking a stand. Here will we concentrate on the reasons why visiting business events can help your business grow.

1. With so many stands offering all manner of products and services you will be able to save time and money by comparing business in one place and negotiating the best deal. After all, they are there to sell and will be happy to discuss the best price they can offer.

2. You might even find a new product or service that will help your business or save you money.