Colin Picken (Federation of Small Businesses)

Are you self-employed, own a small business or a director of a firm with less than 250 staff? If so, I invite you to consider becoming an FSB member.

The FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) was founded in 1974 as a not for profit organisation. We now have over 200,000 members nationally, and lobby the government on issues which affect our members and the self-employed community. Members enjoy a package of over 30 members services and benefits, including free legal advice, employment law protection, insurance protection against tax investiagation and VAT inspections, lifetime free business banking and many more.

I am the FSB 'Recruiter' in North Lincs, North East Lincs, Louth, Horncastle, Gainsborough, Lincoln and Sleaford. I conduct one to one meetings with business owners to assess how FSB membership can help them with their business and arrange for them to join and start to use the services on offer if they so wish. It is important that business owners are aware of what the FSB offers, so if you own a business and don't know the detail of what is available, please get in touch with me.

After leaving the University of East Anglia in 1977,  I did what most lazy unemployable people did in those days and joined the Civil Service for a while. I escaped 26 years later having worked for the Home office and FCO and spent 7 years working in Pakistan in 3 separate spells. I have worked for myself since 2005 and have a contract with FSB to deal with membership enquiries in Lincoln and surrounding areas from the Humber down to Sleaford. In that time, I have had hundreds of one-to-one meetings with business owners to assess how FSB membership can be of benefit, and arrange membership and access to those benefits. Being a small business  owner and FSB member myself, I know how important it is to have the right protection, and to carefully manage running costs. My aim is to provide  a service to business owners which is, in effect, cost neutral. 

I am married to Julie, another escapee from the Home Office who is a training manager for Mouchel in Lincoln. Our daughter Sarah is starting her final year at Durham University, and our son Mark is starting his first year at Sheffield Hallam. I am a qualified football coach and my free time is spending managing and training our village football team. I love most sports and enjoy visting sports grounds and it is rare that I don't sneak a visit in whilst on holiday.

If any of the above is of interest, please contact me on 07871 481929, pickenc@aol.com or follow ColinPickenFSB on Twitter.