Setting up a new business in recession is a risky option, especially when leaving a well paid and secure job to do so. I know this because it is exactly what I have done. Scary? Well yes. However, it is not the first recession I have lived through and in both previous recessions I have been freelance and thrived.
The people I really feel sorry for are those who have established businesses that are now in free-fall because they simply have not been able to adapt to the current downturn. They still have great products and services but are not generating enough sales to sustain the level of staffing required to maintain the standard. Worst of all they are in a position where they can no longer afford to advertise or market their wares because the budget is simply not there.
I have come across two such businesses recently and one in particular was very close to my heart. A local pub which serves our village well. It is the only pub in the village but does not get enough local support to sustain the business and the family that run it.
This is not as I understand a one-off. The length and breadth of Britain local pubs are closing their doors at a rate of 39 every week. That’s an awful lot of pubs.
So for what can be done about? (more…)
