Small business owners share what your support means to them this Christmas

Many small businesses are relying on Christmas spending to stay afloat this year (Picture: Getty)

This hasn’t exactly been a vintage year for many of the UK’s small and independent businesses. 

With two national lockdowns forcing many to stop trading for weeks at a time, and a lot of us tightening our belts as a result of pay cuts, furlough or redundancy, it’s a difficult time to be in charge of your own company.

After a challenging month, as we enter the festive period, many of the UK’s independent shops, pubs, cinemas, restaurants and salons will be hoping that the nation’s Christmas shopping habits will give them a much-needed boost after a difficult and worrying time.

Here, five small businesses across the country share what it would mean if customers chose to shop with them this Christmas.

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Mofe and Febimara Sey, Torera Essentials in Hertfordshire

‘We’re two sisters who launched our soy wax candle company bang in the middle of lockdown,’ says Mofe and Febimara.

‘We’d gone through many months of research and development and we didn’t want lockdown to hold us back, but it’s definitely been an interesting year.

‘We would have liked to be able to meet our customers face to face and tell them about the candles, but that hasn’t been a possibility for us. We’ve taken part in a few virtual markets but it hasn’t been the same as face to face contact.

Torera Essentials launched in the middle of the first lockdown

‘At some point in every small business, the owners will have a bit of imposter syndrome sneak in, so it would be very validating for people to spend money with us over Christmas, as well as allowing us to invest back into our business and make 2021 a bigger and better year.

‘We do a little dance every time we receive an order, so would love to bash out a whole routine over the Christmas period!

‘Choosing to buy Black or shop small is important, as your money is going directly into supporting somebody’s dream. Shopping small should become the new norm.’

Lynnette Hecker, Lovely’s Vintage Emporium in Bristol

‘My online vintage clothing business has been quite badly affected this year,’ says Lynette. ‘I’m lucky in that I’ve had my website since 2011 so have a lot of regular clients and a good social media following, but I normally sell a lot of festival and holiday vintage clothing in summer and vintage party dresses in winter, and this has been affected.

‘I’ve adapted by selling more vintage homeware since this has been much more popular thanks to everyone staying at home all year. On a personal level, the toll has been huge. I caught Covid and was hospitalised twice, which meant I struggled to work for a few weeks as I simply didn’t have the energy.

‘Thankfully I think people do want to shop locally and shop from small independent businesses this year. I feel that the pandemic has tapped into the kindness inherent in most people and our willingness to support one another.

‘With small businesses like mine, each order is personally appreciated and treasured, and you get a personal touch. I reply personally to all messages and handwrite thank you cards, so it’s very different to shopping at large retailers.’

Simon Sharp, Nautilus Bar in Bolton

Simon says: ‘At the end of 2019 after years of wanting to, I decided to fulfil a dream of mine by setting up my own mobile gin bar. I purchased a horse trailer, fitted it out to look like a vintage submarine from ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’, and was all set to travel around on the events circuit serving gin in character as a Victorian gentleman when the first lockdown hit. 

‘With the hospitality and events industries on pause, I needed to find a creative way to avoid sitting around and drinking my stock. I was never under the impression that we’d resolve the pandemic quickly, and being asthmatic I was in no hurry to put myself at risk, so the Nautilus Mobile Bar became the Nautilus Smugglers’ Club, a subscription box of craft gin, mixers and garnishes, all selected by me along with tasting notes and a few extras.

Simon had just started his mobile gin bar business when lockdown hit

‘It was a challenge turning a barman-for-hire business into an e-commerce one, but in doing so I’ve created something that will hopefully prove more sustainable. 

‘I’m of the mind that people shouldn’t support small businesses just because of some quaint idea of a world before supermarkets, but because it’s a genuinely nice experience dealing with someone that cares deeply for their business, loves what they do and enjoys interacting with customers.

‘Big retailers, while often cheap and convenient, are just another obstacle to human contact and that’s what we’re all missing now. We’ve all learned a lot about what we liked and disliked about the world before lockdown and I think the small business experience is something people have really enjoyed and will want to see playing a more prominent role after life returns to normal.’

David Tshulak, WeJam Studio in London

‘I’m an ex-professional musician and run an immersive live music experience which offers people the chance to experience being rockstars for the day,’ David says.

‘The best way to describe it is karaoke meets Guitar Hero. After the first lockdown, we hoped we’d be able to get back up and running easily, even with the rule of six, as most groups that booked wth us were smaller than that anyway, but the second lockdown and ban on households mixing has made it almost impossible for us to operate. 

‘To be totally honest I’m not expecting a surge in sales over the Christmas period, even though we do offer gift vouchers so people can book an experience day when it suits them.

‘I think people will mostly be giving more tangible gifts this Christmas given the uncertainty involved with booking anything at the moment. It would make a huge difference if we did see a surge though.

‘On a personal level, I haven’t taken a salary since January so it would really help me out, but more importantly, it would mean we could keep our amazing team of musicians employed during this tough time.’

Lianne Lett and Sean McManus, Glazed and Confused in Leeds

‘When the lockdown hit in March preparations were well underway for my third year trading as my Belgian Waffle street food business ‘Sugar Spun Sisters’,’ Lianne and Sean tell us. ‘We had a big summer season of festivals, street food events and weddings lined up and hoped that we’d still be able to do them after a brief lockdown, which wasn’t the case.

‘We really struggled to pivot the business to offer any type of takeaway option since waffles and ice cream don’t travel particularly well, so decided to set up a donut business to put to use the vegan recipes I had formulated. It’s been quite challenging but we’re just happy to have survived.

Lianne started making vegan donuts after her Belgian waffle business had to close

‘Small businesses have had continued blows this year and many won’t make it. They rarely have big cash reserves and nobody could have predicted that we’d spend so long in lockdown.

‘Supporting us during this difficult time means the world. Putting money into local companies and helping them to survive means more choice, more creativity and more job creation in the economy, but if there’s an independent you love there are other ways to support them too.

‘If you can’t afford to spend, promote them on your social media or leave a glowing review and you might inspire someone else to use their product or service.’

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