Published: Monday, 1st March 2021
Micro businesses, with one to four workers in Cannock Chase can benefit from 12 months’ free business support to help and guide them, following the pandemic.
The Council is pooling resources with Staffordshire County Council and other borough and district councils to offer free 12 month membership places with (FSB).
Membership will give free advice and guidance on issues such as legal and tax, employment legislation, health and safety, cyber protections and insurance. This is available thanks to a partnership with Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Businesses must not be a current FSB member and the memberships will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis for eligible applicants. Successful applicants will have all the benefits of full membership straight away.
Councillor Tony Johnson, Portfolio Leader for Economic Development said “Micro businesses in Cannock Chase have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. We hope that this partnership with FSB offering free advice on a wide range of business issues will help them overcome issues as the economy recovers from the pandemic.”
Karen Woolley, Development Manager for FSB for Staffordshire and the West Midlands, said: “FSB is proud to be partnering with Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase Council on this crucial initiative to get robust, on-the-ground and immediate business support to local small businesses to help them not only survive this crises, but to go on to revive and then thrive. Both Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase Council have always had a real passion for identifying businesses in need of support, and this initiative will be pivotal to ensuring this aim is met. FSB membership provides vital support including 24/7 legal advice and a legal hub containing a wealth of fact sheets and documents which are oven-ready for use, a funding platform, medical care helpline, free debt recovery and cyber protection to name but a few of the benefits which our members are relying on most at this difficult time. We look forward to supporting more businesses across Staffordshire to weather this crisis.”
If you want to apply for free membership please contact our Economic Development Team by email at: econdev@cannockchasedc.gov.uk
More information on the full suite of benefits offered to FSB members can be found at: https://www.fsb.org.uk/join-us/membership.html