Taking advantage of this glorious summer, I have spent time wandering around craft and country fairs and have been amazed at the number of small enterprises that are benefiting from the gradual lift in the economy

In the main, these small businesses, some with just two or three people, are producing a wide range of goods that are directed at the impulse buyer.

Many are food-producing enterprises, from farmers making ice cream, cheeses, and a variety of special meats, to organic flour millers, and pie producers. Then there are those engaged in the production of scented candles and herbal soaps, together with all sorts of remedies for aches and pains refined from plants.

This is fascinating, for official figures state that more than 45,000 small enterprises have won support by claiming from the New Enterprise Allowance, a product the present coalition government has instituted. This cash stream is attracting applications from many young people, keen to go it alone.

The new business minister, Esther McVey, has been emphasising the fact that she is keen to promote start-ups, underlying the statistic that 15 per cent of people in work are self-employed.

She also said school leavers who choose to get involved straight away in commerce should be accorded the same sort of social status as university graduates. I am a bit puzzled by this latter comment, for I thought social status was becoming of less importance as the years roll by.

Nevertheless, the high cost of university education may not be the best route for young people with creative brains who believe that they can provide goods or services for the buying public.

As the economy improves, and all the official forecasts believe that the graph line will continue upwards, the impulse buyer will become more important.

Such buyers will not be so concerned with the price, but the quality and attraction of the goods offered. The trick is to come up with ideas that will tempt, be it tangible goods or unique services.

I just wonder if it would be asking too much if the glamorous Ms McVey could have a word with the bankers to be a little more supportive of start-ups.

After all, there is an election to be won, and a political career to me made.

* Russell Luckock is chairman of pressings firm AE Harris