“I’ve seen the association evolve and expand from its relative infancy till now,” he says. “That experience has allowed me a broad view of things. I’ve seen where the challenges are, and I’ve seen how the needs of small business have changed.”

Today’s technology is at the forefront of helping meet those needs, he believes. The growth of the Internet has brought a wealth of information and resources we couldn’t have imagined even 10 years ago. But small business has not moved as rapidly toward technology as larger corporations have, and Hughes is committed to closing that gap.

“We still have to find ways to educate and to promote technology with self-employed businesses,” he says. “Information is the key. We’re driven by information, and through its new Web site, for example, the NASE can provide much more rapid and accessible information than ever before.”

Whether it’s about benefits or legislative action, the information the NASE offers can make a major difference in helping you run your business. It can also have a significant impact on the nationwide climate for small business.

As Hughes explains, small business is responsible for the creation of more than 70 percent of American jobs and more than half of the nation’s innovations. Yet our needs are not always a top priority with elected officials. “There are somewhere between 13 million and 18 million small businesses in this country, and in total, that’s a huge economic force,” says Hughes. “But so few of those small businesses really communicate with their elected representatives that legislators don’t see us as a collective force.”

That’s why legislative goals – from Social Security reform and health-insurance tax credits to business meals deductions – are so high on the NASE’s agenda. The association represents you on Capitol Hill, voicing the small-business view on every bill affecting the self-employed. But Hughes wants to see more involvement on Members’ part.

“We’d like to see our Members mobilized more to legislative activity. I don’t mean picking a position for them and motivating them to support it. We encourage them to be involved in the process and to communicate their views to their elected representatives. But I would like for the NASE to have some mechanism – and technology can help – that would make it easier for our Members to get in touch with their representatives.”

Hughes’s goals for the NASE also include expanding Members’ benefits even further. “We’ve developed quite a package over the years and offer solid benefits that have a dramatic economic effect on the small-business person,” he notes. “We have a good team that looks for benefits every year, and I want us to look at that on an ongoing basis and strengthen the package.”

It’s all about making the NASE even more effective in working for you. “More people are joining the ranks of the self-employed,” says Hughes, “and the NASE can help – through benefits that actually bring dollars to your pocket and information that helps you succeed in your business.

“My dream for small-business people is that they will be able to fulfill their dreams.”