Belonging to a trade body or federation can make all the difference for a small business to operate effectively and legally in even the busiest and most profit making era.  The busier someone is with their marketing, sales and other commercial functions, they often overlook the other essentials such as HR matters and all the legalities surrounding hiring and management of staff;  health and safety matters; taxes and legal compliances; crisis management and business insurance issues.

A small business owner needs to be aware of how to deal with documentation, firstly knowing where to find out about it and where to obtain copies if needed.  Contracts of employment can be an issue if the businmess grows sufficiently to require employed staff.  Belonging to a federation or association allows members access to their extensive libraries and usually a twenty-four hour helpline on just about any subject within the advisor remit.   Very often there is a debt recovery service available, or just getting the advice on how to operate their own, a businessman can get back up and resources, templates of necessary correspondence and for fixed fees, legal action assistance if things go ‘belly up’.  Although membership fees might seem an unecessary outgoing and could be used for other things, when help is needed, and fast, those fees will melt away as an absoute essential in the grand scheme of things.