I have always believed in working hard and supporting yourself, your family and your country. It doesn’t matter where you come from, you should be able to succeed through hard work and determination.

Small businesses are the embodiment of this idea. When people start up a small business, they put they their careers, their income and often their homes on the line. They are building something that not only supports themselves but also our wider community through the jobs and wealth they create.

This was demonstrated to me last month when I had the pleasure of speaking to over 50 local small businesses. These ranged from financial services to recruitment, to solicitors and digital marketing.

The decision to set up on your own is a big risk and requires very hard work, particularly at the beginning. You don’t have the luxury of an IT department and an HR department, or an accounts department. You have to do all these things yourself, usually late into the night.

That’s why small business owners deserve a break. I’m glad that we are cutting taxes, not just by reducing corporation tax to 18 per cent by 2020 but also though extending rate relief.

We also need to keep on cutting regulation. I’ve led a debate in Parliament championing keeping the new digital tax system simple for small businesses. I know that the last thing you need is the burden of fresh regulation.

In the end though, it’s not just the millions of jobs they create nor the trillions of wealth, nor the fact that some of will turn into the Facebooks or Virgins of tomorrow. Perhaps most importantly, they represent people choosing to be their own boss – deciding what they want to do, not what someone else tells them; and succeeding as result.

• This article appeared in the February edition of MyBushey and MyRadlett news.