Karren Brady has been appointed Small Business Ambassador for the government. The announcement was made at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester as she introduced George Osborne’s keynote speech. Karren Brady made it clear that she knew the struggles of small businesses having experienced them first-hand.
Time-consuming regulations have long been an onus for small businesses to comply with and take their focus away from day-to-day operations. The UKs complex tax system fails to benefit the small business owner as many are unfamiliar with filling in their tax returns and are fearful of the fines and legislation in place for mistakes. Most small businesses source financial advice and administration externally which is a large cost they could do without.
Business Minister, Michael Fallon said he was considering removing the burdens of tax and regulations in the first year of a business starting up. This exemption would allow for fast, unhindered growth and encourage the generation of more jobs without all the red tape and tax that would usually slow small businesses down.
James Caan, serial entrepreneur and Karren’s fellow T.V personality on Dragon’s Den, knows what’s what in the small business world, having been involved with the evolution of start-ups not only through his participation in Dragon’s Den but for creating the Start Up Loans Company a year ago. Since its launch the scheme has provided funding to and mentored over 8,000 aspiring entrepreneurs. The success of the scheme has encouraged high street bank Santander to partner with the company through providing second phase funding to contribute to the growth of small businesses.
In her bid to back David Cameron’s plans to help small businesses Karren Brady has devised the small business campaign proposing National Insurance cuts from April 2014. Small Businesses can get involved by entering their details using the above link. The campaign is to provide SMEs with a channel to voice their concerns.
The growth of new businesses has been rapid over the last 12 months with 15,720 new start-ups being generated within the EC1V postcode alone, otherwise referred to as the “Silicon Roundabout”, according to a recent report by UHY Hacker Young. On average 1439 new businesses start-up every day and with this come new challenges for Karren to contend with. Karren’s stepping into the ring, with the government in the blue corner and small businesses in the red. Will she referee a fair bout or will her political ties sway her?
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