Premier Paula Cox has urged people to become entrepreneurs rather than “crying into their milk” over the economic downturn.Ms Cox, who is also Finance Minister, is calling on people to make the most of innovative business opportunities to “navigate our way through the storm”.She told last night’s public forum on the economy that Bermuda was “just a small, little Island” so its people should be prepared to do things differently.Ms Cox said people should take advantage of the natural environment and consider opportunities using “the latest green technology”.Ms Cox urged the Island’s residents to “look where you are standing now” then look at “your future prospects”.She said: “People should be thinking how can we succeed and navigate our way through the storm?“We need to try to be successful and keep our heads above water. We need to use what we have to come up with more innovative idea. We need to prepare for the future, which will be about green technology; there is tremendous revenue potential there.“The heroes of the future are going to be entrepreneurs.”Ms Cox indicated that the Energy White Paper would “usher in new opportunities” and “transform ways of doing things”.Ms Cox said even though many people’s eyes “started to glaze over” when the economy was mentioned, everyone needed to realise: “We are feeling the pinch.” Although she said Bermuda wasn’t in “the same pickle” as America.Ms Cox said: “The economy isn’t some distant entity that we talk about. It’s about how we can survive and what life lessons we can learn.“This isn’t a time to cry in your milk and say woe is me. We have to look at what the opportunities are.”The public forum entitled ‘You, Me and the Economy’ at the Warwick Workman’s Club was organised by PLP MP Dale Butler who said his constituents had named the economy as their primary concern.Ms Cox was joined on the panel by former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kim Wilson, who is now Attorney General, and Bermuda College economics lecturer Craig Simmons.The Premier also said she “didn’t see the point” of reducing her own salary unless all Cabinet members agreed to pay-cuts as “a collective responsibility”.She did however indicate that a more cost effective way to reduce spending was to reduce the size of Cabinet. She said there were currently 13 Ministers and the “lowest credible number” would be ten, adding: “We have a way to go”.Ms Cox also touched on her controversial decision to increase the Customs duty on goods bought overseas. She said she knows “everyone likes retail therapy” and that she’s been called “every name possible” but stressed that it was a move to preserve jobs rather than generate income.Ms Cox added that she’d been “rather gentle” with the 25 percent to 35 percent increase as some people had suggested a 50 percent or even 100 percent duty.Ms Cox answered a handful of questions from the crowd of about 40 people but said she wanted to get home to prepare for today’s Throne Speech. She said it was going to be “a speech with a difference” which she said would “come up with a formula for success and survival”.Mr Simmons said people were too quick to point the finger at Government for its debt when Government could actually point the finger back at the Island’s spenders.He raised the issue of public debt and said people were “spending a heck of a lot”. His advice to the crowd was for them to control their personal spending and “cut out the credit card or bury it in the back yard”.Mr Simmons explained there was nothing new about the current recession, except what had already been forgotten.He compared today’s struggles to the credit crunch from 1989 to 1992 and said: “We will come out of this.”Mr Simmons said: “We’ve been down this road before and will go down it again. Get ready for the next one.”Ms Wilson gave a short speech outlining several Government initiatives which had been launched to “retool and retrain” Bermudians. This included the National Training Board offering a variety of training and certifications, a one-stop career centre, a series of job fairs and a moratorium on certain work permits.