Member Article

FSB throws its weight behind Small Business Advice Week 2013

The countdown to this year’s Small Business Advice Week has officially started with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) supporting the week.

Now entering its tenth year, Small Business Advice Week - which runs from the 2nd to the 8th of September - will be reaching out to companies across the UK to share best practice, tips and key business information to help create jobs and growth for the year ahead. The week’s aim is to help firms access finance, save money and get the best out of technology.

An estimated 4.8 million businesses are in operation across the UK, employing nearly 24 million people delivering a combined turnover of 3.1 trillion pounds; small and medium size businesses (SMEs) account for 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses supporting a workforce of 14 million people.

Phil Browne, an organiser of Small Business Advice Week 2013 says: “We’ve had five years of economic hardship, but despite some financial experts telling us how they’re starting to see tentative signs of recovery, it’s not rocket science to see how the average small business is still finding life incredibly tough. Our aim is to provide as much information as possible and to as many businesses as possible too.

“We’re also encouraging business owners to contribute their own advice to our website on a number of subjects ranging from saving money and training staff, to new technology and future planning. You don’t even have to wait for September 2nd to start doing that - the website’s live now so I’d urge you to go and check it out”.

The FSB have recently released the findings of their Procurement 2013 report, revealing the power of small businesses in the local economy. FSB National Policy Chairman Mike Cherry says: “Our research shows that more money spent with a small firm is re-spent in the local area. To be precise, 63p in each pound compared to 40p in each pound spent with a larger business goes back into the local area. Small firms are a vital part of local economies. Creating jobs and supporting growth”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Federation of Small Businesses .