GETTING BACK TO LOCAL IN 2022

/Business

GETTING BACK TO LOCAL IN 2022

One of the biggest trends of 2022 is "getting back to local" and creating an abundance revolution for your business.

Lockdowns, forced business closures, and restricted movement has been an unexpected nightmare for creatives, entrepreneurs, and business owners.

Businesses have had to get creative and find new ways of making money. Whether that be online, offline, or a hybrid mix of both, doing something 'different' has been an imperative.

Being flexible, practical, and willing to pivot and change mid-stream has either been the best thing ever, or the final nail in the coffin for some.

Certainly, If you stay in business long enough experiencing an economic downturn and shift in the market is a reality that can never truly be escaped.

Over the years we have been challenged with austerity, Brexit and now the Covid depression or simply put the 'Covid years' . Staying afloat and avoiding pitfalls has been an acquired talent of survival, and some businesses just simply haven't made it through.

A recent Bank of England report found that a third of UK’ s small businesses were classified as highly indebted with debt levels of more than 10 times their cash balances, compared with 14% before Covid-19.

In the US, the picture is as equally bleak. It is estimated that 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. qualify as small businesses.

Compared to pre-pandemic levels the US has seen 34% of small businesses close. This

is quite devastating as the small business sector collectively employs on average 47.3% of the nation's private workforce.

Watching a business go out of business is sad. It is the end of a journey for someone's dream and vision. Yes, new businesses can be created, but they will take time to build.

There are always winners and losers in any battle. It's a hard fact of life but the world of business can be quite cruel. That's why if you want to succeed in 2022 learning how to do the small things well will help you weather any upcoming future financial storms and problems.

Covid has taught us the simplicity of life. Thinking local, and staying local has been hard for many of us as we are used to living in a global interconnected market, where we meet, socialise and travel freely.

We will still have the global market in the form of the internet or meta verse, which is just launching, but becoming local and partnering with others is becoming the new weapon of choice to weather the 'Covid' financial storm.

Whether big or small, brand-sharing activities, partnerships and joining resources, is helping a variety of businesses become abundant through difficulty. Sharing shop space, creating pop-up shops, and trading through physical local markets are creating positive opportunities to trade.

As people are staying closer to home, buying local has taken off and those in the creative industries have been benefitting from a renewed interest in local farming; crafts; clothing; tourism; and many other creative and service based industries.

Giving top class customer service face-toface, or online creates happy money that circulates and creates prosperity.

So think about how you can use the power of local in your business in 2022, and be open to working with others in business.