Thursday, May 26, 2011

Small businesses closing down. Don't be next.

I thought I’d share the following article which appeared on the News site. Whilst it is expected the a certain number of small businesses will close up each year, equally new business start up. In this article there is no mention of new businesses starting up, so if we factor new businesses in, to lose over 10,000 small business a year incredible, but what’s even more incredible is it understates the real number of businesses closing down.

SMALL shops are still badly wounded from the global financial crisis, with exclusive analysis for news.com.au showing that more than 30,000 of the most vulnerable small businesses disappeared between the 2007 and 2010 elections. ... Read More

 

If you read many of the comments on the article by people you would get the idea it is all the government’s fault. Yes there is too much red tape, yes we are over governed, yes people prefer to buy at large department stores, but ultimately we are businesses and we have to work out how to survive. No one asked us to start a business. It was our choice. Should we really be putting our hand out to government. I don’t think so. If we do the government simply needs to take the money off us in the first place and by the time it comes back to u,s it is a fraction of what they’ve collected.

To me one of the biggest problems for small business is being seen by people in their area and for locals to support the businesses. But equally how many small business give preference to locals to supply them with products and services. Certainly none of the local businesses in my area ever ask me what I do, or give me business. With that approach how can they expect any loyalty from locals. Most businesses simply take from their customers in the form of profits and rarely see their customers as potential suppliers. Personally I look at my customers as the first people I call if I want a service. I look for ways to refer business to my customers if I can. If more small businesses stopped just taking from the local community and actively looked for ways to spend their expense dollars locally I believe they’d make a huge difference.

As small businesses we only have ourselves to blame. Look for ways to help other locals with your purchasing power and you’ll get more loyalty from locals. If you don’t, your business may be the next business they’ll be looking to online stores to provide your product or service. Loyalty is a two way street. You can make it happen but not if you only take and don’t give back.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

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