The Micro Business Alliance

Short Hair. No Hat. 20 years ago. Cafe Royale, London. Remember? How do you celebrate your business anniversaries? Jenn Crowther, Ian Farrar et moi are rehearsing our new version of the 'Be More Happipreneur' Show. It's the final, twelve months tour, so it better be a good 'un. We're hoping Micro Business Alliance members will host some shows for their customers, suppliers, employees, networks and members. Ian Cass, our Leader and chair, will attend as many as possible and join the Q&A panel. In looking through our 'greatest hits' file, I found this image. It was one of the slides in our show and party at the Cafe Royale, celebrating the first eighteen years of our business. “18 and up for it” we called the show and party. We invited over a hundred of our clients, and the champagne flowed. It was the first time we created the character of celebrity fashionista Leonora Soculitherz as the author of a 140-page satirical book called 'Buzzing with the Entrepreneurs' which every guest received. Like all the best parties, no one can remember much about it. My wife, Eileen (46 years), and business partner, Clare (38 years), prefer the short hair, no-hat look, but they've never liked my campaigning for a more level playing field for new business owners, including #PayIn30Days or less. Two things give me an inner glow about the image and our party at the Cafe Royale in 2004. 1) We can name every guest who attended, and we've kept in touch with nearly all of them. We've known some of our serial entrepreneur clients, like Mike Reilly, for 37 years. 2) We're even happier in our enterprising lives now than we were then. At 67 and 72 (moi), we'll never retire, and we'll always think that family, friends, sport, music, theatre, ballet, opera, art, travel, reading, writing, seaside, countryside, cycling, running and charity fundraising are more important than our businesses. Here's to the #happipreneurs. Cheers. 😎

Please scan the #ExcludedUK QR Code for the link. Please add your support, and if you have a few pounds to spare, please contribute to the ExcludedUK mental health counselling support managed by Jennifer Griffiths. It has already saved countless lives, but sadly, at least 35 have taken their life. #ExcludedUK is a member of the Micro Business Alliance. As our leader Ian Cass has said, it was founded to ensure that such a tragedy to 3 million hardworking taxpayers, mostly running their businesses, never happens again. Suppose you're unsure of the scale of the tragedy or the government's deliberate discrimination. Why not download the ebook or buy the "Excluded Voices" paperback by Stephen Liddell with an Introduction by me? These are real-life tragedies and in their own words. Many sold homes, cars, equipment, personal possessions, bodies and body parts to make ends meet. They hated relying on food banks and charity. Many lost everything, including their partners. They sought jobs after losing their self-employment and businesses. Many are in a dark place and are in poverty. Make up your mind and help us get redress - those excluded cannot wait for a TV drama to be their saviour. Thank you & Charles Cracknell

There are only ten days left for micro-business owners to enter Simply Business fabulous and famous £25,000 Business Boost Grant Competition. Simply Business is a Micro Business Alliance member and has nearly a million micro-business customers. It's been a privilege for me (Tony) to be a judge for each of the previous four years, and I am a judge again this year. Here's the link - please share - https://lnkd.in/e-kWpM5j It's also worth looking at the Simply Business Knowledge Bank on their website, which has some brilliant research and reports on micro businesses, including on the cost-of-living crisis, mental health, unfair payment and key issues for the government to take notice of.

Liz Barclay updated The Micro Business Alliance Steering Group on the Fair Payment Code. Many of us have been campaigning for decades for local, regional and national governments not to buy from, accept tenders from, contract with, fund or license any organisation with 45 to 120 days, 'take it or leave it' payment terms. They must prove they #PayIn30Days or less ALL their bills ALL the time. Once the FTSE350 companies are all signed up to this Fair Payment Code, £30 billion cash will flow twice as fast in England, and #PayIn30Days or less will become the typical payment culture as it was in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. We business owners have monthly bills to pay, and an average of 60+ days of waiting for payment leads to debt and depression. Below is the update on the new measures from a member of the Micro Business Alliance - the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers.

As a steering group member and founder member of the Micro Business Alliance, it was a pleasure to hear from our Leader and Chair, Ian Cass, today about the confidential discussions he has had with Ministers, Shadow Ministers, and their policy advisers to improve business life for #startups and micro business owners through fairer and better policymaking in England. We were also pleased to hear from Liz Barclay about the progress on eradicating unfair, 'take it or leave it', 45 to 120 days payment terms through the voluntary, Fair Payment Code. We have to, through Ian's work on behalf of the members and their micro-business owner contacts, change our business support, costs, and payment culture back to the days when it was normal for micro-business owners to be respected and valued in our communities. #PayIn30Days or less Jill Poet Charles Cracknell Ian Farrar Jenn Crowther Thank you. 👍

We have uploaded two documents this week about The Micro Business Alliance. You may find them of interest if you:- 1. Are a microbiz 2. Have a supply chain including microbiz 3. Sell to microbiz 4. Care about the economy 5. Want to support microbiz (95% of private sector businesses in England) 6. Care about spreading the word that we aren't like big business but smaller 7. Are concerned that microbiz continually falls into the 'SME' grouping 8. Want to ensure your local shops are there when you need them 9. Care that microbiz are paid fairly and not at the mercy of crazy payment terms 10. Want to ensure microbusinesses are never again, forgotten. We believe that by collaborating and helping each other, we can gain better recognition, better represent the views of and work on better policymaking for micro-businesses with the Government. You may find them useful to send to your local MP or to any organisation that represents 100+ microbusinesses. You can find them here https://lnkd.in/egWPXJ4u Thanks for your support 💪🏼💖

Another insightful blog from our chair Ian Cass about the pub trade's busiest time of year, but there is a serious risk....read on. The comments from Dave are hard hitting. https://lnkd.in/eCk8gMzd

It’s been that time when all the political parties get together for their conferences, and we had a chance to represent small and micro businesses at both the Conservative party conference in Manchester and the Labour party conference in Liverpool. READ ALL ABOUT IT ... https://lnkd.in/eqGHSx_B