Comment on the Government's Manifesto / BUSINESS section published on The Coalition: Our Programme for Government

In the spirit of this excellent collaborative website Program for Government – I would suggest the small / medium business (who will be most adept at helping you turn round the economy) could use: a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses.

Why not choose a small committee to join you in formulating that missing business proposal for the government to do marketing of the UK not only to secure inward investment, but to supporting small businesses wishing to expand their firms to new UK markets and/or are seeking new markets abroad physically and via the internet etc…?

I would suggest someone like Doug Richards head it up for the private sector (Entrepreneurs Manifesto *, School for Start Ups ex Dragons Den etc…). He seems to be someone who has the skill and the know-how and a huge selection of persons from all business disciplines and experience from which to choose your team.

Indeed it could be an online challenge/project for contributions initially from business people from over the UK who wished to share an insight; then this would be part of the content for you and your committee to edit – rework and ultimately it (along with a budget to support it) could be submitted formally. To make it more productive, you could create for the public ‘categories for comment’ (exactly as you are doing here for an overall public view on cuts), to channel our efforts more efficiently towards the ultimate goal of a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses which would be properly funded directly to business to get it into new national & international markets.

The RDAs are a waste of time and build empires (literally physically as well as metaphorically) which they then spend the funds they are granted to populate primarily with their own wage earning members. This idea would deliver some properly directed investment to fund real businesses to get into foreign markets, or develop new markets within the UK, via spending whatever funding is allocated directly on the businesses.

Underwriting their presence at global trade fairs over all sectors of business would be a good start. Not the often lame government stands at these shows, paying lip service, but really big innovative presence at ALL trade shows in places like China and India the US and on the continent – showing off what the UK can bring into all these markets.
At the moment, funding is minor, geared politically towards narrow market sectors and very complicated and most serious businesses are too busy trying to DO business to perform the clown like contortions to get themselves minor funding or to be part of fairs that are on arbitrary lists and not really where they KNOW they should be to make a real business impact. Business must tell government what they need not government tell business what they have to do to get what they (the government) thinks they should be given.

A Marketing Plan for internal and outward investment in our home grown entrepreneurs, where the content actually comes from an articulate and grounded grass roots, led and consolidated under your committees know-how and direction would deliver quick and sustainable results for minimal cost. Claire Swait (www.fineartpartnership.com )