Resources from the web site of Well House Consultants on the subject of Federation of Small Businesses. We provide open source training course and business hotel accommodation in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

The Federation of Small Businesses trumpets itself as a member lead organisation - and I joined a number of years ago for the benefits offered at both national and local level. As it turns out, we haven't taken much advantage at national level - and a vibrant local level came to an abrupt halt in Spring, 2007 when an employee of the Federation complained about the local Chairman - resulting in her being suspended, and the local branch and region crippled by extra bureaucracy. As I write this text, some 18 months later, the Chairman has been completely cleared of the allegations that had been made against her, but she remains suspended and the Branch AGM which should be happening in a couple of weeks hasn't even been scheduled. Would this make a good novel? No - because the plot would be so unbelievable! Please follow the links down the laft hand side to read my short articles - now totalling over a dozen - on this topic, latest first.

Articles and tips on this subject		updated
3522	Networking - North and West Wilts FSB Style It's a very long time since I attended a local branch meeting of the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), not for any particular reason except that there haven't been all that many truly local to me, and that those that have been held have clashed with my diary which has got much busier over the years. ...	2011-11-27
3214	Melksham Campus - any last minute inputs from Melksham businesses? Over the past few weeks, I've listened and learned about the plans for Melksham's Campus (as best I can, as there seem to be some important questions for which answers are not provided). I've attended a Community Area Partnership consultation, the Melksham Without Parish meeting, and the Chamber of Commerce ...	2011-03-26
3032	Coincidence, or Conspiracy - a wrong email address It's a long time - a very long time - since I posted about the Federation of Small Businesses. Once a keen local supporter and committee member, I was dismayed at how the organisation handled certain matters to which I was a spectator three years ago - have a look [here] if you wanted to be reminded ...	2010-11-07
2517	Blogging accuracy - open invitation for any corrections I make every attempt to be accurate on my blog - but they're written quickly, so you'll find typos in them (and the more passionate I get, the more typos jump in!). Usually, it's obvious what I mean and there's no significant change to the message I have - although it may be diluted by my confused wording, ...	2009-12-09
2524	An update on legal changes from the FSB? "We're with the FSB, and would like to update you about forthcoming changes to the law". So said a caller on the phone to one of our team, and I got the message to call back. Which I duly did. It seemed a bit odd to the person who took the call that the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), who have ...	2009-12-04
1654	The old sayings are the best (FSB) My attention has been drawn to an old page about goings on at the FSB and I was reminded of the various happenings in this area last year which I talked about on 13th September, 20th December and again briefly on 18th February this year. I am reminded of the saying "a leopard cannot change its spots". ...	2009-11-29
1544	FSB, EGM, AGM. Well that was a VERY odd evening ... an Extraordinary General Meeting (in deed as well as in title) of the local FSB Branch, followed by the delayed AGM at which a committee was elected. "No Comment" on events - except to say it was eventful; I've never been at a meeting quite like it though others ...	2009-11-29
1350	FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Western Region Until this Spring, the local branch and region of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) ran a series of well attended events for their members - we attended networking events and informative sessions of various sorts, meeting a wide variety of people; a real benefit to our business. But in the last ...	2009-11-29
1855	Volunteer v Employee - a skewed balance? (FSB) "But it's not sexy" ... a reason advanced for something that should be newsworthy, or worthy of attention, but hasn't made the headlines. Take, for example, the relationship between volunteers and employed staff within charities and other non-profit organisations. Whereas employed staff has many a ...	2009-11-29
1823	FSB - an update. Last Tuesday, I got a phone call at lunch time asking me if I could attend - as a witness - a D&D (Dispute and Disciplinary) hearing of the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) at Bath that afternoon. Unsurprisingly, I was giving a training course and couldn't oblige, but the D&D committee went ...	2009-11-29
1479	FSB leaves its members feeling like mushrooms "I feel like I've been treated like a mushroom - kept in the dark and fed a load of sh*t". So said one of the members at the start of Tuesday's already delayed AGM of the North and West Wilts Branch of the Federation of Small Businesses. I can totally understand those feelings - for the members, ...	2009-11-29
1286	A wasted evening? It's when a meeting has trouble agreeing the minutes of the previous meeting of the same committee that you know that it's not pulling as a single body. And it took a whole hour at last night's FSB regional committee meeting to get past that item on the agenda. It's when the HQ representative is seated ...	2009-01-22
1284	An update on the West Wilts show ... As you know, I attended the West Wilts show on behalf of Well House Consultants - very much with the view of getting us more out there and more known in the community - i.e. more of a marketing than a sales exercise. And as such, I intended to have a "train panel" or two there - so that I could pull ...	2009-01-22
1937	Getting hold of the wrong end of the stick I got an email on Tuesday that I would describe as aggressive in its approach, accusing me of libelling various people, and demanding that I remove that material from my site. Problem was ... the retired senior business man had got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I hadn't even heard of the people ...	2008-12-12
1515	Keeping staff up to date on hotel room status Communication - communication of the immediate status of hotel rooms, of events that have happened out of the norm, of the reasons behind each of our terms and conditions, and much more is all a vital part of running our hotel - and it's not made easier by the fact that we are (and must be) run be a ...	2008-01-22
1512	Summer Ball at Bowood - Saturday 12th July 2008 I'm giving a "plug" this morning for a Summer Ball which will be held at Bowood Golf and Country Club on Saturday, 12th July 2008. The local branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has organised such an event for many years, and it's always been a sell out. The arrangements take an incredibly ...	2008-01-22
1278	West Wilts Show The bi-annual West Wilts show is taking place today, tomorrow and Saturday in Trowbridge, and I have agreed to take a table for Well House Conultants and Save the Train on the Federation of small businesses stand. Of Course, being a small business organisation thay had booked a small stand. No - ...	2007-07-26
1249	Is this how to run a business for businesses? Last night, I attended as observer a meeting of the regional committee of the Federation of Small Businesses. I have been a member of the FSB for a few years and on the local (branch) committee for a much shorter while; I would not normally wish to go further "up" the organisation, but agreed to an ...	2007-07-06
1246	An oddball day. Strange experiences! Yesterday was the oddest day in a long while ... and probably one of the least productive in an immediate sense. But I'm going to use words like "interesting", "educational" and "thought provoking". Little did I realise when I set out soon after 9 a.m. that it would be nearly 11 p.m. before I got home. ...	2007-06-27
1157	Speed Networking - a great evening and how we arranged it What an excellent evening! Our Speed Networking evening, organised on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses, drew in around a dozen inividual and a coupe of pairs with a disparate range of products to sell, and a wide variety of requirements to meet - some by using other's products and services. Seated ...	2007-06-23
1133	B-2-B Networking, 20th April. Useful for YOUR business? On Friday April 20th [2007], we're organising a business to business networking event in Melksham on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses. This is a golden opportunity for businesses in the West and North Wilts areas (Melksham, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Bradford-on-Avon, Corsham, Warminster ...	2007-04-21
1097	Train and business balls all in the air! A "mad" weekend coming up ... FSB meeting last night, Wiltshire Business of the year tonight, Travel Watch South West in Taunton on Saturday and our big "Save the Train" meeting on Monday. Tuxedo bought for tonight, more comfortable clothes for tomorrow, clothes for Monday not even considered yet! I ...	2007-03-08
1078	Wiltshire - multicultural community How many cultures / nationalities are represented in these pictures, taken last night at the Punjabi Community Centre in Swindon? I confess - we went along with an element of trepidation, not knowing how the evening was going to turn out. But - a great time had by all and I'm really glad ...	2007-02-14