Founder, Entrepreneur 2 Entrepreneur Exchange.

After a summer break, Taking Stock returns with my guest Shalini Khemka who runs her own community for entrepreneurs as well as sits on the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board and is Non-Executive Director of UK Export Finance. 

Shalini has great access to senior policy makers making real time decisions, so I thought I would check in to hear her views on how businesses should be navigating the next 6-12 months. There's a lot of uncertainty in the air here in the UK, and business leaders are navigating all the various Government Schemes, and trying to balance going for growth again versus being prudent and keeping costs under control. 

We cover the following areas in our conversation: 

• What have been the key Government interventions to help UK businesses such as the Furlough Scheme and Bounce Back Loans and how have they performed? 
• Will some of these schemes be extended, how will the Government frame such a decision given the "K" shaped recovery we seem to be having, with some sectors booming, whilst others in real trouble. 
• Should businesses be bringing people back to work? What does this mean for the future of working, and in particular the impact on younger workers. 
• What are the key things that Shalini is pushing for as we approach the next phase of this crisis. 

No-one can predict the future, but I hope you find the conversation useful, especially if you're having to make some big calls in the coming months.