Over 30 national small business membership, support and training organisations have come together to influence government, large employers and the third sector to work with us to enable the UK to be the best place in the world to start and run your own business.

We believe in the following four key principles:

Everyone thinking of, starting or running their own self employed or micro enterprise should as a right...

...have access to support and training that maximises their chances of success

...be assisted to choose to start and run their own enterprise rather than being employed by others

...have subsidised access to personnel with either a track record of starting and running their own micro enterprise or 'proven in practice' expertise for start ups and micro enterprise owners (SFEDI business support standards should be used to quality assure all publicly funded provision).

...be able to gain any additional skills and know how through local providers delivering accredited learning which helps them to successfully start or grow their enterprise (SFEDI business enterprise and social enterprise standards should be used to quality assure the learning).

Underpinned by these principles we have come together to achieve the following five aims:

Fair share of the public purse for micro enterprise

Persuade government to invest at least 30% of the welfare to work, adult vocational training and business support budgets on start ups and the 95% of all existing enterprises that have less than ten employees.

Go with the grain for support and training provision

Encourage government, major employers and leading third sector organisations to provide all enterprise training and support through existing, proven in practice, quality assured providers , including accountants, micro enterprise networks and micro enterprise membership organisations.

Self employment not unemployment

Ensure that self employment as an earning opportunity achieves equal status and support as employment by all workless individuals having a right to a minimum of an eight week, publicly funded, support and training programme to help them to start and run their own enterprise.

Enterprise ready for when enterprise provides the best or only available option to earn a living

Ensure that the UK education system provides all individuals, by the time, they leave full time education with the essential enterprise skill set at level 2 with appropriate basic literacy, numeracy and ICT skills within (e.g. win and keep customers, cashflow, set goals).

Recognise and reward the achievement of enterprise skills and know how

Ensure that all prospective and existing self employed and micro enterprise owners that take appropriate enterprise support and achieve appropriate enterprise competences are recognised by an enterprise excellence accreditation which enables banks, government and other major institutions and corporates to offer them finance, products and services on preferential terms because of the relative lack of risk.

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