At the weekend I attended the FSB’s annual UK conference in Birmingham.

It is the one occasion of the year when FSB members from every corner of the UK gather in one place to discuss the big issues facing smaller firms.

Here in south east Wales the FSB has more than 3,100 members, but while that is good number on any count it is only a small part of the almost 200,000 members that the FSB has across the UK as a whole.

Being at conference impresses upon you the breadth and depth of the FSB’s membership; a membership of business owners drawn from a seemingly endless list of trades and professions, and ranging from those who are self employed up to those who employ up to 250 staff.

I find that our conference is always a good opportunity to catch up with members and staff from other parts of the UK, and to talk about the particular issues facing them in their nations and regions.

No two parts of the UK are identical and every area faces its own set of challenges. I think that one of the best things about the way the FSB works is the way that it responds to those challenges.

The FSB works to give small businesses a big voice at every level – from our work at branch level with our local councils to our policy work at National Assembly and UK government levels.

As a federation we have the scope to find different solutions to the particular problems that our members face in different parts of the UK. I believe that this approach allows us to really stand up for the best interests of smaller businesses at a more local level.

But being part of such a wide-ranging organisation also means that our members have a big voice.

One thing that I can guarantee after meeting a broad range of members at our conference is that we will not let the needs of those small businesses which are so integral to communities here in south east Wales and elsewhere be ignored.