It has been a super tough four months for many of my clients, friends and myself… I just wrote this for my magazine so I thought I would share it here too.
- Family Business
Many people set up a business to fit around their family or for a better work / life balance after years of corporate life. This business supports the owners families and it takes a lot of strength and organisation to run a successful small business. So when you support it, you support lots of little people too.
- Excluded from Furlough
Many small businesses had to close for 4 months to be able to claim furlough and for many this was just not an option! Many have had to change their business models and go online, and some have had to create something totally different. There has been zero support for LTD businesses and we have already seen some close and staff lose their jobs. There have still been bills to pay and in some cases nothing coming in for over 4 months to cover these fees.
- We do a happy dance
Honestly, ask any business owner and they will all say the same…
“When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance.”
The feeling you get when you create your own business and make your first sales is just amazing! A lot of energy goes into starting up a business and the proof is in the pudding, happy customers make happy business owners!
Gift Cards are a great way to support our local businesses too. Buying a gift card from a local business and saving it to use in the future is an immediate way to put cash into your favourite shop, salon, theatre or restaurant and recommend it to others. It is also a great way to show business owners how much you appreciate their work and a gesture of customer loyalty in uncertain times.
- Passion & Why
Most small business owners are driven to succeed; they want to see their businesses grow, from startup to established business. Drive is a very common characteristic among successful entrepreneurs because starting a business can be challenging, and some challenges call for a moderate amount of competitiveness, determination, and motivation. This is why we need to support them and keep their motivation alive, lets celebrate these movers and shakers!
- Handmade with love
No two handmade items are exactly alike. Variations in color, shading, texture, shape and grain are inherent in a handmade item. No two items are alike, so that every single one is one-of-a-kind. This means that every handmade item you purchase is also one-of-a-kind. We have some amazing businesses in Milton Keynes who make everything from soaps to beautiful keepsakes.
See Thefollysoapco.selz.com for details
- Long hours and sometimes 7 days a week
While many companies follow a standard 9-to-5, 40-hour workweek, entrepreneurs find themselves working at odd times of the day, many times more than 40 hours per week. For new or aspiring entrepreneurs being bombarded from all angles with the “entrepreneurial grind” on social media, it’s hard to know how many hours entrepreneurs truly work.
- Iceberg sacrifice
Success is an iceberg. There is what people see on the surface: confidence, wealth, beauty, relationships, seniority. Then there is what people don’t see hiding below the surface: persistence, failure, sacrifice, disappointment, good habits, hard work and dedication.
“By supporting locals, you’re directly putting money back into your own community. You’re funding great ideas and ventures that can only exist if we support the makers, entrepreneurs and go getters!” – Samantha Poole
To support your local businesses see: www.mumsrate.com for our Local Business Directory.
The Social Entrepreneur 