MPs to work in small businesses this summer
One of the best ways to understand and overcome the challenges and realities of running a small business is to work in one.
After all, it’s still very tough out there. And if those in power knew what it was really like then we might start to see some changes, right?
Well, be careful what you wish for this summer because your MP could soon be knocking on your door.
Set up by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) as part of their campaign to Get Britain Trading, the innovative Business Buddy Scheme invites every English and Scottish MP and Welsh Assembly Member to spend half a day working at a small business in their constituency.
The idea is to get politicians out on the front line and learning first-hand what it’s like to run a small business. Owners get the chance to communicate their issues and concerns directly to their MP and, hopefully, get to influence business policies of the main political parties in the future.
We think it’s a great idea. What better way for small businesses across the UK to have a voice in the corridors of Westminster than for Westminster to come and listen to them?
More than 100 MPs think so too and have already signed up. Well-known Members mucking in will be business secretary Vince Cable (visiting a furniture manufacturer in Twickenham), Green Party leader Caroline Lucas (at a fruit and veg wholesaler in Brighton) and Minister of State Oliver Letwin (making pies in Dorset – our personal favourite).
Although getting the thumbs up from high-profile names is obviously important, it’s a numbers game and the FPB hopes to get every MP involved. The more politicians that see the enormous contribution small businesses make to the economy, the better.
For more information on this, and for loads more advice on all aspects of running a small business, take a look at the FPB’s website or tweet them @The_FPB.