“The self-employed are so misunderstood – I want them to feel at home at IPSE”

By Robert Light , Chair at IPSE - The Self-Employment Association

I’ve been self-employed since I left school, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I can’t imagine a life in which I wasn’t my own boss. But it has been frustrating – isolating, even – to have been on this journey in a world that doesn’t really understand what makes me tick as a business owner.

It was only when I saw that IPSE were searching for a new Chair did I realise that an organisation that does understand me was out there all along – I only regret that I didn’t find them sooner.

But starting this week, I’m making up for lost time. As IPSE’s new Chair, I’m deeply passionate about helping to take this truly unique, truly important organisation from strength to strength and give the self-employed a stronger voice in public debate.

How can we get policymakers to truly appreciate the self-employed?

I had a career in local government spanning 30 years, including three years leading Kirklees Council. But in all my years working in local government and with national government, I often felt that Council Officers and Civil Servants didn’t fully grasp what self-employed people do or how their actions impact on our lives.

I’m deeply passionate about helping the self-employed to get the attention they need from policymakers, and I’ve taken on the job at IPSE because I truly believe they’re the ones to make that happen. I’ve met with the IPSE team a few times already and I know they’re keen to make use of what I’ve learnt from my time in politics to make a bigger impact with their lobbying and campaigning. I can’t wait to see what they’ll achieve.

Building a home for the self-employed

We’ve seen a huge growth in the number of people taking on a self-employed role in the past 20 years, with a wealth of information and connectivity online making self-employment more accessible than it ever used to be.

But still, perhaps more often than we’d like to admit, the self-employed can feel isolated and unsure of where to go or what to do next. Your business becomes part of you, so much so that the problems you run into can feel deeply personal and specific; you convince yourself that you have to take the weight of the world on your shoulders.

But after meeting with the wonderful staff at IPSE a few times, the overriding feeling I leave with each time is validation; the kind you get when you vent to someone who genuinely understands, cares, and has the means to help.

So, I think it’s going to be really important for IPSE to get out into the world and offer that kind of help to people; making it known that this single repository of knowledge, support, community and genuine understanding is here for them to use however they see fit. Ultimately, the self-employed are so misunderstood – I want them to feel at home at IPSE.

IPSE’s enduring mission – a fair environment for the self-employed

IPSE turned 25 this year, and many of those who became members in the early days are still with us now; a testament to the enduring relevance of this organisation to the self-employed despite all that’s changed in that time.

As I start my term as Chair, my goal will be to drive the organisation forward to be an even more effective source of support, advice and representation for the self-employed. But to do this, I’ll be working closely with the board, including directors elected from within the IPSE membership, to uphold our vision for a fair environment where self-employment is an aspirational and sustainable career option.