A Chat With: Martin Searle from the FSB
By Garry James and Sarah Cronk
Every month, we speak to people working in digital in and around Eastbourne. To tie in with our support for businesses theme of the month, we caught up with Martin Searle, Development Manager for Sussex at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The Federation of Small Businesses - What’s it all about?
The FSB has 160,000 members UK-wide, with roughly 30 field managers, who have similar roles to Martin. In Sussex, there are around 6500 members, ranging from self-employed and micro-businesses up to small to medium-sized businesses. Many of the most active members are in the digital sector.
Martin's role covers:
Managing an extensive events programme
Lots of lobbying and campaigning for business support
Media work with press releases and social media
Supporting members and signposting them to useful information.
The FSB, along with its staff, also has a number of volunteers who champion small businesses and represent different areas.
What are the benefits to being an FSB member?
There are various benefits to being part of the FSB, including:
Free legal support by phone
HR support
Plenty of useful documentation online in the Resource Hub, including information on contracts, GDPR, Health and Safety
Free business banking with Co-op, including access to Bounce Back Loans
Free events, where members can speak and have a profile
Lobbying on members' behalves, including a policy team in London to speak to ministers
Representation at local level, working with councils and Chambers to feed into their plans
Participation in the Big Voice survey, where 10,000 members submit their thoughts to help shape their FSB representation.
The FSB are currently running a new "We've Got Your Back" campaign, making sure small businesses know they are there to support them. Key to this is the lobbying for more business support packages, similar to those in 2020.
What are the benefits of working in Eastbourne, Hastings, and the South East in general?
The primary benefit is lifestyle, with such proximity to the coast and beach, but also to the South Downs, High Weald, Hastings Country Park, and Romney Marsh.
We're also really close to key centres like Brighton, Gatwick, London, Ashford International, and the ports, for easy access to the EU. We're in the thick of things, but also in a beautiful place!
The cost of living is also a blessing - the house prices and rents are quite a bit cheaper than Surrey and West Sussex, so it's relatively low cost for the South East.
