Whether you are worried about growing your company without losing control, agonising over funding, or designing a killer marketing campaign, our panellists can help you.

Following an overwhelming response, BBC News Online is publishing a second series of answers to your questions. We have tried to include as many questions as possible.

BBC News Online will publish the next set of answers from our panel of small business experts on Tuesday, 29 July.

QUESTION
Dan Cookson, UK
MyHousePrice.com provides consumers an online house price service. We are steadily building our brand on a small budget. We have used a mix of marketing including radio, TV, newspaper adverts, e-mail, with varying degrees of success. Do you have any advice on how to spread a small marketing/PR budget - do we focus on just those channels that give the best return or should we spread our budget thinly across them all?

ANSWER
Simon Edwards, marketing director at Cobra Beer
I've had a look around your site and it's a great idea - I'm just getting my house re-mortgaged and I wish I could search my area to see what's been selling and for how much. Roll on the roll-out to the rest of the UK!

Quite simply, the smaller your budget the more careful you have to be with it - do not compromise, do all you can to ensure that every pound spent is a solid investment for your company - i.e. have a very good idea what you are expecting to get back in return.

For a small budget my advice would be to cut down on the mix of media. The more you spread your budget the less weight you will have for each type of media. You need to make sure that your target audience is seeing the ad a few times rather than thousands of different people seeing the ads only once.

The aim is to build an association between "house price" and "Myhouseprice.com". You can help that association by placing ads where people are thinking about the value of their house e.g. garden centres, DIY stores, as well as in the 'Houses for Sale' section of the papers.

If you already have some tried-and-tested marketing channels, stick with the ones that are working well for you.

You didn't mention if you had tried direct marketing. You could quite easily target a neighbourhood where a house has just sold, with a door drop. For example, "Last month x number of houses were sold in this postcode and you can find out the selling price on myhouseprice.com".

Have you tried a partnership with an estate agent? When someone is looking to buy a house they can spot a "For Sale" or "Sold" sign at 1000 yards - you could add another sign to the agent's, telling people they can see how much it sells/sold for on MyHousePrice.com.

QUESTION
Gareth Llewellyn, England
My partner and I run Jabba-wocky Clothing, an independent clothes shop in Bournemouth, and we trade on the internet. The shop is very well known in Bournemouth and the internet sales are going very well, but how can we promote the brand nationally without spending a huge amount of money on advertising or opening shops in every large town?

ANSWER
Simon Edwards, marketing director at Cobra Beer
It's a little tricky to answer not knowing what your idea of a huge amount of money is - you will have to invest something if you want to expand your business.

However, there are many ways to reach a nationwide audience cost-effectively if you focus on the audience most likely to buy your clothes. For example small ads in the back of fashion/lifestyle/music magazines, the back of club flyers, handing out flyers when clubs close.

Have you looked at getting your website at the top of searches for "clubbing clothing" or whichever words you think most appropriate?

Freshers week is coming up and it would be worth investigating what it would cost to get a flyer included in the giveaway packs handed out to new students. There are numerous ways to target students including student-specific websites, on which you place links.

As the products you sell aren't unique to your shop, concentrate on the service side. Make sure that whatever you send out is 100% correct and is received promptly - make it very, very easy for people to use your site and get the right order every time.

Think of what you can send with the order that might prompt another order e.g. a '10% Off' voucher valid for the next order, or an added value item like a postcard of the character on their clothing.

Once you have their address, and if they have agreed to receive further mail, you could send them e-mails or brochures, when new stock comes in. Keep the lines of communication open, friendly, fun, and relevant, backed up with great service and you will have happy customers.

QUESTION
Rich, UK
I am a director within a small computer graphics company of just two directors and no further staff. The company was started straight after university five years ago and we have had reasonable success after the initial financial hurdles. However, we sometimes both feel that if we were better business 'managers' and had the minds of business men, we would be millionaires by now! Do you know of any instances where small firms have 'brought in' a manager to run the business, whilst not handing over the company on a plate?

ANSWER
David Wilkinson, partner, Ernst & Young
One of the toughest challenges faced by growing companies is knowing when to bring in management that will help the business move into its next growth phase.

When you hire a manager on board, you will want to compensate them on the basis of their performance, and usually giving them a stake in the business is a good incentive.

There are many success stories of entrepreneurs who have had to make this difficult move, but who still remain wholly involved in the business, and who retain a majority stake.

However, with a business your size, it may be wiser to reach out in your own network and get some advice from someone with some business management expertise and perhaps bring them aboard as a non-executive. It may be too early to bring a full-time manager on board.

There are a number of business plan proformas and guides that will help you structure your thoughts. One such guide is Ernst & Young's Guide to Producing a Business Plan, which can be found on our website:

Once you have a complete understanding of your business objectives, you can assess where you need particular assistance in moving your business forward.

QUESTION
Rupal Rajani, England
I have an idea/invention and am thinking of commissioning a company based in Ireland to carry out a market research report for me. How do I go about finding out if it is a reputable company or not? Is there an organisation or body which I can contact?

ANSWER
Liz Barclay, presenter of Radio 4's You and Yours
Any reputable company you are thinking of employing in whatever field will expect you to check out its credentials.

Ask for details of past clients you can talk to. If it's reputable there's nothing to hide. If you ask for that information and are refused, think twice.

Check which market research body the firm belongs to and ask for the qualifications of the people you will be dealing with. Check them out. Your local Chamber of Commerce is often a good source of information about the activities of companies in its area but may know nothing about the company you want to use as it's based in Ireland.

QUESTION
Phil Hayes, UK
We are a small (�1.25m annual turnover) consultancy offering executive coaching and leadership training. So far we have been successful (first five years) but this year we are finding it harder to win contracts. Should we niche our offer more or generalise it more?

ANSWER
Liz Barclay, presenter of Radio 4's You and Yours
Why are you finding it harder to win contracts? Is it because of a general downturn in the market due to firms being more cautious in the current financial climate? Are there other firms around your patch now offering something similar? Have you somehow failed to keep up to date or ahead of the game - is it time to update your product?

It's time to take another look at the market you're selling to - more market research. Talk to the companies you have successfully worked with in the past and find out whether they're cutting back or looking for something new.

In a downturn, you may have to diversify a bit to bring in more customers, but you can go too far down that route and get too far away from your core activity, leaving the business vulnerable.

On the other hand if you do specialise more, you need to be sure that the market wants that specialism and that it's giving you a unique selling point that your competitors don't have.

QUESTION
HK, England
When a small business with flat management structure is taken over by a multinational firm with several tiers of management, what are the repercussions of it on the small firm, and in what way, if at all, can the working spirit of the current firm be retained?

ANSWER
Professor Nigel Nicholson, London Business School
This is a difficult situation. First of all, the good news is that in most acquisitions the chief beneficiary (financially) is the acquired firm, and the chief loser is the acquirer.

This, of course, says nothing about the effects on culture, or 'working spirit' as you put it. To keep the spirit of an acquired company intact the acquirer has only two choices.

One: leave it be and protect it, as the pearl in its oyster. Two: capture and spread the spirit by giving its movers prime statuses in the integrated business.

Neither is guaranteed to succeed, for big corporations have their own inexorable logic which drains the spirit out of companies like yours, unless they themselves have exceptional spirit, as some (but not enough) do. Sorry if this response depresses you!

QUESTION
Patrick Gray, Wales
Company established in 1945 by T. B. Davies, grandfather of the managing director, Patrick Gray, 60. Son David, 31, is a director. Employees: 34. Turnover: �4m.

The problem is whether the business - which we do not wish to sell - can be promoted into the �10-15m league by existing staff or whether we should get in an MD who will put a new energy into the business and allow me to retire without worry!

Growth was 24% in 2002 and 20% in the first six months of 2003. We are becoming a very profitable company.

ANSWER
Professor Nigel Nicholson, London Business School
Congratulations! You're riding the stallion of success, but when it's fast like this there are big dangers.

All high-growth businesses are subject to exceptional stress. Employees get change fatigue, and the energy flags just when you need it. Leaders have a critical role in keeping the spirit moving and making the decisions that will keep the fast-growing firm on track.

In your case, you as MD are not old but your son is young, and if you want to retire, outsiders might be helpful to help bridge the transition and keep the business moving.

The more benefit you can get from external perspectives, the better. Moreover, as companies increase in size they need more systematic management systems and processes.

Of course, you should be loyal to your existing staff and make them core to whatever developments ensue, but professional management to support your son and them should be part of your plan.

Make sure you reward outsiders and include them as 'extended family', which means that it is vital to select people you feel really comfortable with and who are prepared to engage constructively with you.

You should not think of 'cold turkey' retirement - the risk is that you'll suffer and not be able to resist interfering from your outside encampment. Much better that you and your son figure out a meaningful but hands-off role for you - such as new business development - that you can practice part-time.

QUESTION
Tad Stone, UK
I am involved in resettlement of prisoners at a D-Category prison where I run business planning groups. I am also a business adviser and run my own business. We have terrible trouble opening business bank accounts for ex-prisoners, even though they do not want loans or overdrafts.

A current client who has been offered a Prince's Trust loan is restarting a previously successful business after problems with the Inland Revenue.

His only crime was incompetence in bookkeeping. We have arranged a bookkeeper, set up systems and he has a business mentor. He has put together an excellent and very workable business plan, been thoroughly vetted by the Prince's Trust, is putting in his own money, plus existing vehicles and tools valued at some �50k. The only thing now preventing start-up is a bank account. What do you suggest?

ANSWER
Peter Ibbetson, head of NatWest Business Banking
At NatWest we recognise that there are many reasons why customers may have had financial difficulties in the past and have adverse data registered against them. We also recognise that this does not necessarily stop a new business venture from becoming successful.

We do offer business current accounts, without borrowing to all customers (apart from undischarged bankrupts and where there is evidence of deliberate fraud) irrespective of their credit standing.

Our aim is to help businesses build up a track record after which we will consider borrowing requests.

QUESTION
Greenham Murage, UK
I am interested in starting a business which will mainly invest in Africa and Asia. How do I finance the business? Do banks like yours help small start-ups whose business does not target the UK market, but Africa and other third-world countries?

ANSWER
Peter Ibbetson, head of NatWest Business Banking
NatWest looks to support commercially viable business propositions whether they are intending to trade just within the UK or further afield in Europe and/or globally.

My advice is the same as it would be for any new business - planning and research are key. Additionally you will need to consider the possible language barriers, visa/work permit requirement, business legislation and any local customs.

You will also need to decide whether your business will trade in sterling, US dollars, euro or the local currency and how you will process payments between the UK and overseas.

I recommend that you discuss your proposition in full with your bank manager, accountant and legal adviser.