“Whether I am affiliated with a trade association,” someone recently asked me. As a starting entrepreneur, I had not thought about that at all. “I have my network, right? And via LinkedIn I can join all kinds of groups and spar with fellow self-employed people in the same industry. So why should I join a trade association as a freelancer?” But the question still got me thinking. I decided to look into it and that yielded a number of interesting facts.
The classic trade association Of course I knew that there are trade associations for freelancer groups. For example in healthcare, the catering industry and the travel world. If you are affiliated with a trade association, this also says something about the quality of your company. It gives just a little extra confidence if you book a trip with a company that is affiliated with the ANVR, or if you have your car repaired at a BOVAG garage. But somehow I was convinced that a trade association is mainly intended for SMEs or medium-sized companies. I didn't know that there are now also trade associations, especially for self-employed people and freelancers.
Trade association for self-employed people My search, for example, brought me to the trade association ZZP Nederland. A trade association with 16,000 members that supports self-employed people and freelancers in the Netherlands. And the Platform for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs (PZO-ZZP). With more than 20,000 members, one size bigger. The difference with the traditional trade associations is that these parties represent the interests of the fastest growing professional group in the Netherlands, that of self-employed people and freelancers. So they do not so much represent the profession you practice, but the way you do it. And that certainly can't hurt, because our profession also has a growing need for 'sector knowledge' and, for example, collective schemes. Just think of the struggle that many of us face when it comes to taking out disability insurance or pension insurance. And then it is useful if there are associations that stand up for the interests of self-employed people and freelancers or can show you the ropes.
Advantages of the trade association For the regular matters that you deal with as an entrepreneur, it can be useful to join a trade association. They can help and advise you on matters such as; - help with taxes, insurance, collection. - free access to legal documents such as terms of delivery, model contracts and debtor policy. - substantive knowledge about the industry. You can often take short courses or workshops to keep your knowledge up to date. - and of course you have contact with industry colleagues and can exchange experiences.
And as a self-employed person or freelancer you still have the choice of whether you join a trade association for self-employed persons and freelancers or one that represents you professionally.
Connecting Another refreshing approach is that of Victor Mundi. The company behind, among others, the FOTY Awards and the ZZP Barometer. They bring self-employed people and contractors together in an original way. Without having to become a member (and therefore pay), you will be informed about everything you have to deal with as a self-employed person and freelancer. And they help entrepreneurs to get in touch with that large group of small self-employed people. Because that is an important development in the labor market. There are more and more companies that want to work with 'our kind of people'. This offers entrepreneurs many advantages. On April 2, 2016, Victor Mundi is organizing the 'day of the self-employed'. I happen to have a free ticket. I think I'll listen to the self-employed people and freelancers who I will undoubtedly speak to there. Let's see if they are members of a trade association. Because current figures show that less than one in three self-employed people opts for membership. So either they don't know about it, or they don't see the usefulness and necessity of it. I'm curious.
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