The Bottom Line

If your business venture doesn't succeed, how can you be sure it's worth trying again before admitting defeat? More than 50% of businesses fail within 5 years, yet for many, failure is a necessary part of success. Even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs didn't get it right first time. Evan Davis's guests discuss the important lessons they've learned from their business mistakes and speak candidly about the personal and financial impact of failing. How do you overcome the stigma of failure and what skills are required to bounce back when your business has bombed?Guests: Bill Cullen, Chairman, Bill Cullen Motor Group Katarina Skoberne, Co-founder and former CEO, OpenAd Stuart Miller, Co-founder and CEO, ByBox GroupProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Why is UK productivity lower than in many other countries?Evan Davis begins a new series of The Bottom Line by looking at the productivity problem. The programme asks what productivity really means and how different sectors go about measuring it.Evan hears from three chief executives in three different sectors: manufacturing; advertising and health. How can productivity be measured and improved in these diverse sectors? How, for example, should the productivity of a doctor or nurse be measured?Guests: Dame Julie Moore, Chief Executive of University Hospitals Birmingham Brian Holliday Managing Director, Managing Director for Siemens Digital Factory UK James Murphy, Founder and Chief Executive of Adam and Eve DDB AdvertisingProducer: Jim Frank.

Phone hacking, financial mis-selling and fraud: How do companies recover from scandal and negative headlines? Evan Davis and guests discuss the skills and strategy required to bounce back.Guests:Niall Booker, CEO, Co-operative BankMike Darcey, CEO, News UKStephen Hester, CEO, RSAProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore joins Evan Davis and guests to discuss the economics and business of football.In light of the recent Premier League TV deal, worth a staggering £5 billion pounds, this week Evan and guests discuss its implications for football both in the UK and in other markets. Whilst the top players can expect even bigger salaries, how will the deal impact on fans and clubs outside the top division? Three top football executives discuss including Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore. Producer: Jim Frank.

Whether you're selling breakfast cereals, criminal tags or excavator buckets, expanding your business overseas can be a game changer. But when's the right time to export and which countries should you target? Evan Davis and guests discuss the ups and downs of trading internationally. They'll share their stories on why it can be easier to sell abroad than at home, how to adapt products for a new market and why doing your homework can ensure that nothing is lost in translation. Top tips on how to make exporting a business boost not a foreign flop. Guests:Sara Murray, Founder and CEO, BuddiGiles Turrell, CEO, WeetabixJacqui Miller, Director, Miller International.

Sock Shop, Golden Wonder and Lehman Brothers: big names that once dominated the high street, the supermarket shelves and the financial world. They faded from view, yet still exist today. What prompted their demise? How did they lose market share? Evan Davis and guests discuss the rise and fall of these iconic companies and explore whether they can ever reach the success of their golden years.Guests:Vimal Ruia, Managing Director, Sock ShopPaul Allen, CEO, TaytoTony Lomas, Chief Administrator, Lehman Brothers in the UKProducer: Sally Abrahams.

The science and psychology of the queue. This week Evan and his guests look at how businesses manage queuing. We're often told that queuing is one of those quintessential British habits which embodies our sense of fair play: that we should wait our turn. Despite technological innovation. queuing remains one of those unavoidable things we all have to do: be that on-line, waiting for a bus or to pay for our groceries at the check-out. But what does it mean for businesses? How do they go about managing queues and our expectations of those as customers? Producer: Jim Frank.

Artificial snow, a plastic hairbrush and a non-spill baby beaker: How do you turn an idea into a successful business? Three entrepreneurs discuss with Evan Davis the process of designing a product and getting it onto the market. How do you finance the project and what's the best way to protect your design from copycats? We'll hear how one inventor risked everything in a legal battle against a company that stole her design. And discover how to create more than 200 types of fake snow. Guests: Shaun Pulfrey, Founder and CEO, Tangle TeezerMandy Haberman, Founder, Haberman ProductsDarcey Crownshaw, Founder and MD, Snow Business Producer: Sally Abrahams.

It's soft, shiny and rare. A symbol of love, of power, of wealth - gold has been prized for thousands of years, its value rises and falls as the economies round it fluctuate. Yet there's only a limited supply of it and demand is high: for jewellery, technology, by central banks and investors. But after more than a decade of rising prices, the value of gold is down. So how to make money from this precious metal? Evan Davis and guests follow its journey from the gold mines of west Africa to the workshops of an east London jewellery maker. What are the risks, responsibilities and rewards for those who mine it, invest in it and manufacture with it?Guests:Nolan Watson, CEO, Sandstorm GoldMark Bristow, CEO, Randgold ResourcesElizabeth Hunt, Director, Allied GoldProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Naked bath bombs, in-store coffee shops and customer satisfaction charts: Evan Davis and guests discuss some of the secrets to retailing success. Each of them runs of a chain of stores but with hundreds, even thousands of outlets both here and abroad, how do they maintain their brand identity? And what persuades customers to buy their products ahead of their rivals'?Guests: Mark Constantine, Founder and Managing Director, Lush cosmeticsDebbie Robinson, Managing Director, Spar UKRobert Forrester, Founder and CEO, Vertu Motors plc.

How should we price services? By the hour? By results? Or by the difficulty of the task? And what impact does each model have on how businesses are run? In the first of a new series Evan Davis and guests look at the history of how we've priced our time and expertise and why this may be about to change. Guests : Christopher Saul, senior partner, Slaughter & May Debbie Klein, UK CEO, The Engine Group Russell Quirk, Founder, EMoov.

What is the role of a business leader? To tell staff what to do or allow them to decide for themselves? One theory about management is that it should turn itself upside-down and permit those closest to the customer to dictate all sorts of business decisions including pricing, marketing and how to deal with complaints. This programme, first broadcast in 2013, won the Wincott Radio Journalism of the Year Award.Guests John Timpson, Chairman Timpson Group Nikki King, Honorary Chair, Isuzu Truck UK Sir Gerry Robinson, Chairman Moto Hospitality Producer : Rosamund Jones.

Taittinger champagne, Clarks shoes, Theakstons beer - three famous and successful family businesses that have passed down through the generations. So what prompted members of those families to leave the original firms and set up rival brands of their own? Producing champagne, making shoes and brewing beer. What's it like to compete with the companies they've known all their lives? And how easy is it to make their mark? Guests:Paul Theakston, Founder and Chairman, Black Sheep BreweryVirginie Taittinger, Founder, Virginie TGalahad Clark, Founder and Managing Director, VivobarefootProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Very few companies survive for centuries. Evan Davis hears from a luxury jeweller, a removals firm and a diversified business that makes money from ships, finance and groceries. Between them they have nearly a thousand years of business experience. What strategies have they embarked on to ensure that they live long and prosper? Has their history become a burden or a motivator? And have they sacrificed growth for corporate longevity? Guests: Sir Michael Bibby, MD The Bibby Line Michael Wainwright, CEO Boodles Stuart Burnett, Partner Shore Porters SocietyProducer: Rosamund Jones.

From smartglasses to smartwatches, tech companies like Apple, Google and Samsung are investing big money in technology that you can wear. They're designed to keep us eternally connected, fully fit and super smart. But will they go mainstream or are they still the preserve of the gadget geeks? Evan Davis and guests discuss how fitness bands that measure how far you walk and how deeply you sleep could transform our healthcare. And hear about the intelligent fabric that's set to revolutionise the way US and British soldiers are kitted out. Guests:Andy Griffiths, President, Samsung UK and Ireland Asha Peta Thompson, Co-founder, Intelligent Textiles Joss Langford, Technical Director, ActivinsightsProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Flash sale companies are growing fast. Evan Davis and guests discuss how this new retail sector is changing the way we shop. How does the business model work? Just how low can the prices go? And are these internet discounters a help or a hindrance for luxury brands?Guests : Victoria Walton, co-founder Sportpursuit Jamie Jackson, executive vice-chairman MySale Group Ilan Benhaim, co-founder Vente-PriveeProducer : Rosamund Jones.

Online postings about hotels, restaurants, hairdressers, electricians: How much can you trust the views of a total stranger when it comes to deciding what to buy, where to go and whose skills and services to employ? How do review sites monitor their online ratings and ensure they're genuine? Evan Davis and guests discuss the power of user-generated reviews that can make or break a business. What can firms do to limit the damage of a bad review and how can they maximise a positive review? Guests:Stephen Kaufer, President and CEO, TripAdvisorColleen Curtis, Vice President, European Marketing, YelpKevin Byrne, Founder and CEO, CheckatradeProducer: Sally Abrahams.

Social advertising: Evan Davis and guests discuss the growing power of celebrities, the rise of the money-making super-fans who "like" their products and the vloggers with consumer clout. How effective are these new social campaigns and how will they change the advertising industry?Guests: Edwina Dunn, CEO Starcount; Dominic Burch, senior director marketing innovation and new revenue Asda; Robin Grant, co-founder We Are Social.Producer: Rosamund Jones.

The best person for the job? Evan Davis hears from four bosses who took back control of the companies they had once founded. Why did they leave and what events made them return? From boardroom coups to corporate collapses, entrepreneurs explain how they took the helm - for the second time - of the businesses they knew so well. What had changed while they were away? And what were the very first decisions they made when they walked back through the doors?Guests: Steve Morgan, founder, Redrow; Louise O'Sullivan, founder, Anam Technologies; Nick and Kath Whitworth, co-founders, Celtic & Co.Producer: Sally Abrahams.

Faulty children's beds, mislabelled horsemeat burgers and exploding dishwashers are among the products recalled by companies in the UK to protect the health and safety of consumers. Evan Davis and guests discuss the process for recalling defective items and find out how quickly manufacturers and distributors must act. What are the logistics of getting back hundreds of thousands of products from consumers? And what impact does a recall have on a company's reputation? Does it reassure or unnerve customers?Guests:Gerard Bos, Customer Relations Manager for UK and Ireland, IkeaChris Dee, Chief Operating Officer, E.H BoothVince Shiers, Managing Director, RQA GroupProducer: Sally Abrahams.