According to the Office for National Statistics, there are more than 4.8 million people who have chosen to go it alone in business. They are contributing around £270 billion to the national economy. They also account for 15 per cent of all people in work in the UK. So, they are not an insignificant group.

Yet while all political parties speak in support for of the self-employed community and all have made it easier for people to get into business, more needs to be done.

In particular, we need to make life less difficult for the 4.8 million already self-employed and encourage others to swell their ranks. That’s why the Federation of Small Businesses launched its self-employment agenda in July. It sets out a series of practical and pragmatic measures that would help to achieve these aims.

Because despite the many benefits of being self-employed, there are also many challenges. For example, if self-employed people fall ill, they have no sick pay to fall back on – just their own savings. If they start a family, they receive lower levels of parental support. Fluctuating monthly incomes make benefits and finance – personal and business related – much more complex and difficult to access. Then there’s the indisputable fact that setting up in business alone is a lonely and high risk endeavour.

The fact that so many people do, is testament to their ambition, tenacity and passion. These are the types of individuals who should be helped along the way. We need simpler tax regimes, better options to help them save for their future and a benefits system that supports them through the early stages of business formation and growth. They also need a fairer system that offers them decent support to start, grow and care for a family.

If we think we need to grow the economy, we really need to #ThinkSelfEmployed.