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There's no such thing as a small businessIn the last few days we came across the latest initiative from Doug Richard, the ex-TV Dragon and Chairman of the Tory party's Small Business Task Force, who has just announced a Judgement Day Poll and Have Your Say Event, which he claims is aimed at letting the country's "great ignored" tell the next Government what they want to say. The "great ignored" in his view are the UK's five million owners of small businesses, who it is claimed have no "collective voice" or "Entrepreneurs' Union". According to Mr Richard, we need someone to provide us with a single voice to lobby the Government, as no-one else is currently doing this. The questions we would like to ask about this approach relate to the basic facts and assumptions on which this initiative is based. Facts about small businesses, who they are, what they are, what they need, and what they know. And the assumption that these five million small businesses all want, or are all interested in the same things, and that there is something lacking that will bond us together. So how might this be wrong and why? Firstly, perhaps the reason that there is no "collective voice" or "Entrepreneurs' Union" is because there is no need or demand for it. Every business already has a voice - indeed several voices - that do exactly what Mr Richard claims we need. Every business has a voice of their own, and for many of us that voice never needs to be heard any further than the end of the street on which we trade, beyond our car boot, or beyond our Facebook page. If you need it you can have a local business voice to speak on your behalf through your Chamber of Commerce, and if you want more than that and would like a national voice there are around 4,000 trade and professional associations that are thoroughly adept and successful at meeting small traders' needs, including, when necessary, giving the civil servants and policy-makers a poke in the eye or good kicking on your behalf. There are also the demographic representative groups like the Home Business Alliance, Forum of Private Business, Federation of Small Businesses, PRIME, Prince's Trust, LiveWIRE etc that provide sterling services to those of you who want an additional level of affinity or allegiance. It could be argued that business owners' needs are already well-served, and in many cases perfectly self-served. The second question is over the tendency to lump together and label the nation's "entrepreneurs", "small businesses" - or even worse "SMEs". If you ask anyone who runs their own business what they do for a living, it's unlikely that any one of the alleged five million will say they are a small business, a SME or an entrepreneur. They will almost certainly tell you that they are a website designer, bookkeeper, photographer, singer, window cleaner, consultant, grocer, loss adjuster, or whatever it is they trade as. And probably a million or so of these people are part-time, second income, hobby-based enterprises who will never employ anyone, will never grow, have no intention of "creating jobs" and are in business entirely through necessity - perhaps more aptly termed as "making-ends-meet entrepreneurs". The fact is that we all think and speak independently about our "little businesses and professions" and have our own unique specific, local, sectoral, occasional and often very quirky needs. It is those facts and those needs that are being "greatly ignored". The team behind EnterQuest have been working at the coalface of small business development for the best part of a quarter of a century, in the early days directly supporting, training and advising start ups, providing consultancy to policy makers, and in the last 12 years as researchers and publishers of business facts and needs. Never once have we come across any request, clamour or demand for a collective voice or union to speak for them. Of course this doesn't mean we that agree that everything is hunky-dory in the world of UK business support as it currently stands. Far from it. And we aren't questioning some of the topics covered in the Entrepreneurs' Manifesto, which correctly addresses the issue that business support needs a radical rethink and (probably) a change. However, we believe it is absolutely vital that any reform needs to be discussed and agreed by practitioners and professionals who are qualified and experienced enough to identify how these changes should be addressed. Sweeping generalisations about scrapping Business Link without qualification are naïve and dangerous, and are certainly not going to help or make the difference that our collective "little businesses and professions" deserve and need. To have your own say on this issue, please comment below.
Add a comment:8 comments so far:Vanessa Hutchinson (04 May 2010) I haven't read Doug Richards' piece or know exactly what he said, but I do agree that there is some missing cohesive force behind a certain category of entrepreneurs in the UK. I mean those of small-medium sized businesses as opposed to micro-businesses. There comes a point when you are just too capitalised, or your rent is just a little too high, or commerical property just a bit too large, etc, for you to qualify for certain exemptions, reliefs, grants, etc. Yet too small to be able to afford the advice that big-guys pay for in order to be able to squeeze out the most favourable positions for themselves out of legislation and regulation. The middle class of business seem to suffer and I agree that this particular group is the large ignored. I am one of them and I do consider myself an "entrepreneur" first. I am in a business that is very different to my professional background because I took a risk of starting up in a sector that I thought could be rewarding with sufficient hard work and strategy. I couldn't raise money in this country so I had to raise it from outside. We employ 14 staff and I would have welcomed a different rate of NIS, VAT, business rate, corporation tax etc for at least the first few years of the business, or at least a forum to discuss it. There are a couple lobby groups for this category of business, but still not enough and can't get results without facing huge red-tape. It is my view that if you decide to set up as anything other than a micro-business or a large multi-national or plc, you must be prepared to face the long hard road alone. At least that's the landscape for now. Ron the Hub (17 Apr 2010) Couldn't agree with Clive Gross more. Got a touch of the cynical sinuses myself. On the other hand, Steve Munden is quite right in questioning Business Link's website costing £35 million a year - assuming that that is spending on the website alone. (Not having seen any honest figures myself.) However, if that is the only thing the money is going on then it can be put right by a simple management decision. No need to destroy the entire organisation for a bit of over-spending. Otherwise, by the same logic, you might as well start with the National Audit Office and end up with the National Health Service and take a flame thrower to the lot of them! As for Natasha Lightfoot, do you think that MPs' and Ministers' researchers have the time to wade through thousands and thousands of illiterate, inexperienced and ill-advised comments posted on a forum? That these comments are even going to be fairly and regularly dealt with and responded to? British businesses have had a multitude of voices expressing their views for generations. Professionally packaged, idiot-proofed and presented to the governments of the day. Just perform a quick google search and you will see over 16 million results for UK business associations. Most of these associations already have forums and they haven't changed a thing. So how is Doug Richard's political creation going to make the difference? There is already a plethora of choice of independent voices for the small business representation in the UK. The problem with the voice of the small business in the UK is finding enough people to get off their arses to speak up when needed. Then, in a fairytale world, a few of those to take a short walk to let their MPs know what needs to be done. Best of luck, everyone. Steve Munden (16 Apr 2010) I expect most of the 'sweeping generalisations' about scrapping Business Link are in fact qualified by its incredible costs. For example, the reported cost of the Business Link's website being £35m per year. I do believe Business Link provides a very useful and informative service, however amongst all the advice Business Link provides, including advice on cost control and efficiencies, how on earth does any such information site cost such a fortune? I do believe Business Link is valuable, but not priceless! Clive Gross (16 Apr 2010) Excellent piece. I've worked with hundred's of individuals and 'SME's' over the past three years and any attempt to define them as a homogenous group is not only impossible but an unhelpful distraction. My cynical sinuses get a whif that Mr Richard's latest wheeze is much more about short-term electioneering than having identified a new Holy Grail of representation for individual entrepreneurs or business owners across the UK. Natasha Lightfoot (16 Apr 2010) For the first time I disagree with your article. Business has changed and is changing. And a lot of the organisations you talk about are part of the old to me. It is like turning a large ship trying to get anyone of them to get nimble and quick - react as needed to the changes in the direction world trading is going. I think the idea of a there and then access for business to talk and discuss needs via internet and their own having our say forum to the government is great. Not going through groups quangos and business associations caught up in their own politics and problems. Stephen Burrell (15 Apr 2010) Feeling threatened? A very negative reaction. Where was all the positive. Engage with any new initiative take what is good from it and use it to your best advantage. Don't dismiss it. Your comments make you sound as though you have a vested interest and are not open to change. How representative and effective is any collective voice we are supposed to have. Most of us are working too hard to have time. Owner/Director of 2 small businesses with 15 employees and a full time job. Adrian Allen (15 Apr 2010) Certainly the present Government have no real understanding of the problems facing SME's. Most of their advisors tend to come from the big boy sector. All clever people who have a good understanding of big company problems, but these are not the same problems smaller companies face. If you ask the Chairman of a Utilities company for example to sort out a 1-5 man company the chances are he would be as lost as the 1-5 MD trying to fix a Utility Gill Hunt (15 Apr 2010) You are absolutely right that all businesses are different and it's pretty well impossible to design policies or support to fit everyone. But I do think dismissing so-called 'lifestyle' businesses is a mistake - and one that successive governments have made. These business create more jobs than they are given credit for - spending money in their local communities and sometimes growing almost despite themselves. What starts as a hobby business can quite develop quickly into something much more significant. I'd also challenge the idea that larger business 'create' jobs - how may times have we seen it said that a supermarket chain is creating 1000's of new jobs - when often what they do is simply move jobs from small businesses to larger ones.
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TODAY: 5 February 2012
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