Could the tide be turning for small business?

There's a general atmosphere of doom and gloom surrounding small business, and with good reason. The last few years have hit the economy hard, seen thousands of businesses close, and brought most of us to our knees financially. With the changes of April 1st around the corner, the jobs market shrinking before our eyes and employers bracing themselves for further rising costs, a grim dismay seems to have set in.

But I think something is changing. The population of Britain seems to have woken up to the fact that if you don't use it you lose it, and support for small business seems to be rising steadily.

This is purely anecdotal, and I may be proven wrong by the statistics - although Keighley statistics show footfall was significantly increased in January from the weekly average for 2024, which is pleasantly surprising. But going by word of mouth both from other local businesses and social media, this weekend especially has seen huge turnouts for hospitality and retail.

Three Little Birds Bakery had its most successful day EVER yesterday. It beat both Christmases in the shop. It beat #cakegate day where we were published in the Daily Mail. It beat Mothers' Day last year. And it beat Valentine's Day this year, which had beaten every other day until then. And not by a little bit. We made 33% MORE than Valentine's this year.

I can see many other businesses saying the same thing, which is amazing.

The famous Marshall's Bakehouse in Queensbury, bossing it

Maybe all the headlines have actually put a steely determination into us to do what we can to shop small and local. Maybe we've all realised we have to put our money where our mouth is and be intentional to stop the decimation of the high street.

We won't ever get the high street back to what it was - we have to build a new way now. But there's no point harking back to old days we can't revisit. And many of us seem to be passionate about supporting the new high street, whether it's local businesses based from home using social media to advertise, pop up events, or retailers fighting the good fight in our town centre shop fronts still.

One of our favourite drinkeries, Wishbone Brewery in Keighley

So in the midst of the despondency, I'll dare to sound a note of hope. Ever the optimist, because what's the point of not being - as long as that optimism is married with pragmatism. It's a powerful combination.

So let's keep it up - and make the backbone of our country, the small businesses that employ half the population and keep our communities ticking, strong.

For beautiful cakes that actually get eaten, visit www.threelittlebirdsbakery.com