With over 35 years of business experience I’ve become adverse to the quick buck because of the lack of satisfaction it brings, sure I have been there when money was easier but it never came without handing over a part of myself and going against what I hold dear. It’s only purpose seemed to be to get ahead but I found this was somewhat self defeating when the fruits of my labour were quickly countered by the releases needed by spending more money. I have learnt my work needs to be more satisfying and used those skills to create a work environment that reduces my need to find escapes from it.
Every day on this beautiful planet should be held with the highest regard as we are all limited to the amount of time we have, I want to share my life with the most important people to me and to want make choices with my time, rather than being told what I have to do by someone who has no regard to what those needs are.
Skills are a corner stone to the quality of my life, I eat well because myself and the wife can both cook, i can fix most things, I can build where I live and work plus have many more skills to enhance the quality of life and those around me. I don’t need to buy most things, I have the tools to make beautiful things but having these skills takes time and dedication not only intelligence but also a deeper understanding of needs and improving ones capabilities.
Multiple skills above all things allows us to be ourselves, it brings real freedom that money can’t buy, freedom from normality of the treadmill of life. Wealth in the sense of money can be lost, where the investment in skills can only appreciate in value the more we refine and perfect them.
Generally running a small business (SME’s) today is not plain sailing and is like swimming against the tide but often without the wind in their sail. These businesses are often judged against the big corporations and their massive resources which often outshine smaller companies through sheer scale. The everyday corner shops who will have an appreciative hard working owner is now replaced with satellite stores from the large supermarket retailers with staff who are working for the minimum living wage. Most who do these jobs would disagree with their living wage terms.
The decline of the high street has everything to do with lower prices and nothing to do with service and it won’t stop until everyone buys directly from China. Cutting out every middle man in the process. Ironically,those middle men employed the very people who have driven prices down.
Eventually the norm will be, ‘I need, where is cheapest’ regardless of the carbon footprint and the landfill will continue to to receive the cheap throw away junk imported after a short fix it provided.
Quality lasts for a lifetime and this is where small businesses need to target & not the volume market, let the corporate companies keep it, it’s just worthless junk anyway. People need to start realising there is no need to replace things every 5 years if they bought quality, that’s a huge saving in real terms and in the long run.
Consumers need to understand the term ‘false economy’ and revere those SME’s who are trying to bring the madness of waste to an end. Don’t get me wrong cheap products created with efficiency is important but where this applies in peoples lives should be clearly defined in the culture of a society. Food for example is massively important, transport, electronics, medicine all require efficiency as it is needed by the masses. But do people really need new furniture every 5 years? Throw away tools, throw away anything, 12 handbags, and masses of cheap clothes that are never worn?
Housing is another waste, take the 1930’s town houses they are desirable because they are well built with adequate gardens, these are desirable because of quality. We are tearing down 1960’s concrete jungle flats and now building those modern rabbit hutches called homes which also restrict people’s growth and will be again be frowned upon in the future.
Artisans of crafts should target those quality bespoke ‘made to measure pieces’ and continue to aim where the semi skilled market becomes highly inefficient. SME’s often practice what they preach and to be honest the public sector who ‘champion workers rights’ should understand the importance the concept of a fair days pay for a fair days work over supporting companies who use sweatshop outsourcing before contemplating ‘bargain’ prices. Given the nations driving ambition for Eco, morals and rights I would like to think SME’s in the future can also count on this group if promoted collectively as a ‘just course’ to bring back quality to this country which it was once renowned for.
Celebration of Skills and appreciating small businesses will enhance this country more than most would think, I salute those of you in the same camp, keep up the good work, they are the true campaigners of equal rights by taking the more difficult route in believing they can change the quality of life for the better for themselves and others.
SME’s are that are life blood this country depends upon, they help support every public sector job and without them could this country really rely on big business & the multinationals?