The Wiltshire entrepreneur who founded Glasses Direct James Murray Wells will be passing on some tips of how to make it in business at the Ideal Business Show Thames Valley 2007.

The show, which is in partnership with the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce - of which Swindon is part - will bring together thousands of owners, directors and entrepreneurs at the Royal Windsor Racecourse next month.

James, pictured, from Malmesbury, has won a plethora of accolades including the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Start Up Awards Entrepreneur of the Year.

Will Allen, sales and narketing director of Ideal Business Show said: "The fact that James achieved this accolade at aged only 22 makes him an inspiring individual."

The proposition of finding a consumer problem to fix and then developing a solution might sound like a cliché but that is exactly what James did when he launched his business Glasses Direct from his parents' front room as a 21- year-old university student.

In 2004 he invested the remains of his student loan to sell prescription lenses online at a big discount to high-street opticians.

The notion first presented itself when James bought a pair of prescription reading glasses for £150. Annoyed at paying through the nose, he took a closer look to see if there was a real business opportunity.

He said: "I just thought there's got to be a business idea. This is a piece of metal with some glass and there is more metal in a teaspoon than a pair of glasses and how come they're so expensive?"

Despite encountering significant resistance from the optical industry and challenged by the very real prospect of failure during the early stages of the business, James pursued his vision of an internet business selling prescription glasses and challenged the dominance of the high street retail giants.

In two years the business has grown to the largest direct-seller of glasses in the world, selling a pair every seven minutes around the clock and enjoying a multi-million pound turnover.

The future success of the business appears to be secure with forecast sales in excess of £10m by 2008. Talks are underway for a worldwide brand rollout and the possibility of a Glasses Direct.com USA operation is being mooted.

James has recently signed an investment deal injecting $6m into the fast growing internet business.

Ideal Business Show is on September 25 and 26 with more than 3,000 visitors expected and more than 100 exhibitors.

Other speakers include the former Director General of the BBC Greg Dyke, retail tycoon Gerald Ratner and business growth expert Ben Kench.

The show is also supported by the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses and Vendita Consulting Ltd.

For more information visit www.idealbusinessshow.co.uk. If you are interested in exhibiting contact Will Allen on 0117 908 4611 or email will.allen@idealbusinessshow.co.uk