ALEX TURNER is the general manager of financial training firm Ambitious Minds

THE sun was shining in Llandudno at the weekend, but the skippers of the tourist boats were looking back to the almost deserted beach and bemoaned the prospects for the afternoon ahead.

They didn’t need the stock market slump of the last few days to realise that we aren’t out of the woods yet.

The problems aren’t all because of the recession – Llandudno has some long-standing issues of its own around changing its offer and changing people’s perceptions, although its natural advantages remain as good as ever.

But the lack of any meaningful recovery means that this is now the fourth summer season that holidaymakers have been cautious with their money.

The most efficient businesses face significant challenges when they are dependent on their customers coming to them – and they don’t turn up. However, on the promenade, the ever-popular Punch and Judy show was providing some tips on entrepreneurial success.

After all, Punch runs a babysitting service, then manufactures sausages before taming a crocodile, demonstrating a diverse business offer which insulates him from one part of the business doing less well (I suspect his babysitting operations would suffer from low customer retention and negative publicity). That’s the way to do it.

It’s never too early to engage with aspiring entrepreneurs, either.

A study published last week showed there is plenty of interest in entrepreneurship among young people, claiming 77% of the two thousand 11 to 18-year-olds surveyed would like to start their own business.

While that number should be taken with a pinch of salt, the trend offers the hope that the next decade of school-leavers won’t blithely go to university then expect someone to give them a well-paid job simply because they have a piece of paper to wave around. That’s also the message for Llandudno’s skippers and shopkeepers, who must become more innovative to capture more of the discretionary spend from its hinterland.

Patience can be a virtue, but if you are like Judy and expect a different result from the same action, then someone is going to come along and hit you over the head with a big stick.

That’s the way to do it? Oh no, it isn’t.