Issue #87 - The election issue ❎
What do small business owners need from the next government? | What are the main parties offering? | What is a small business? | The role of small businesses in the UK economy | Tunes | Words | More
🦾 GO
What do small business owners need from the next government? 👂
Welcome to Issue #87 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
The 2024 general election is almost upon us and all the main parties have released their manifestos.
We ran a Reddit thread to find out what policies would be a vote-winner for small business owners. More than 150 business owners replied and we found the following to be the main issues that need tackling:
An overhaul of the current tax system - The current system is overly complicated and isn’t designed to promote SME growth. Business owners suggested changes to the VAT threshold, corporation tax, National Insurance Contributions, IR35, and closure of tax loopholes used by large corporations.
Policies that promote consumer spending - Consumers having more disposable income to spend is imperative for their success. Multiple participants called for an increase of the minimum wage to £15 and policies that focus on lowering household costs.
Business rates - Continuing business rates relief or abolishing them altogether would be a huge help. One owner suggested rates should be zero for any small independent high-street business.
Policies that promote international trading - Importing and exporting have become a problem for many since Brexit, with high supplier costs, increased delivery times, and inefficient European supply timelines.
Policies which support hiring and retaining staff - SME owners are calling for policies to reduce friction when hiring and retaining staff. This includes removing or lowering NICs for employees and providing free childcare to increase the number of highly skilled workers available.
What are the main parties offering small businesses? 🗣
The build-up to the July 4 election has seen politicians of all stripes explaining how we need to grow the economy. But there’s been very little detail on how this will be done.
We might be oversimplifying things, but making sure people have enough money to spend on the products and services offered by small businesses - and giving those businesses the means to thrive - would at least be a shot in the arm for the UK’s stagnant economy.
SMEs account for nearly two-thirds (61%) of total employment and around half (53%) of turnover in the UK private sector (£2.4 trillion) - so focusing on them would at least be a good place to start.
But what are the main parties offering the millions of small business owners who’ve been hammered by lockdowns and soaring prices since the last election?
We scanned the manifestos so you don’t have to. As you might expect, the big two parties had the most to say on small businesses, but there was little else from the rest - barely more than a sentence in most cases. Here’s what we found:
🔵 Conservative Party – 12 mentions of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
Business rates support package worth £4.3 billion.
10-point plan to support SMEs, including VAT threshold review, tax incentives to encourage growth, improved access to finance, and more. Probably the most comprehensive of the lot.
🔴 Labour Party – Five mentions of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
Not as clear as the Tory’s 10-point plan, but measures include capping corporation tax at 25%, removing barriers to exporting, and reforming the British Business Bank to improve access to funding.
🔶 Liberal Democrats – One mention of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
“Boost small businesses and empower them to create new local jobs, including by abolishing business rates and replacing them with a Commercial Landowner Levy to help our high streets.”
🟢 Green Party – One mention of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
“We support small businesses and local communities to go green.”
🟦 Reform Party – Two mentions of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
“Lift the minimum profit for corp tax threshold to £100k. Reduce the main Corporation Tax Rate from 25% to 20%, then to 15% from Year 3. Abolish Business Rates for high street based SMEs.”
🟡 SNP – No mentions of ‘small business’ in the manifesto.
“Review immigration laws and provide cheaper and quicker trading for businesses.”
Big decisions need to be made by whoever forms the next government. Doing what’s best for small businesses needs to play a part in the decision-making.
🤝 COMMUNITY
Join our community of small business superheroes 🦸♀️
Small business owners are the superheroes of the high street. But small business owners rarely get their voices heard. Now there’s a place where they can chat, share advice and help each other through the lows and highs of running a business. To get involved, scan or click the QR code above or click the button below to sign up.
🗞 READ
What is a small business? 🗣
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up 99% of businesses in the UK, but not all small businesses are classed as SMEs. You might think it doesn't matter, but your business classification can affect how you run it.
Several factors determine whether or not your business is classed as a micro business, small business or medium-sized enterprise. Let's take a look to see where your firm fits in.
The role of small businesses in the UK economy 🏪
The state of the UK economy is never far from the front pages. In the last few years, we've all felt the impact of Brexit, the pandemic, the energy price crisis, soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis. These events have affected personal and business finances, as well as the overall state of the economy.
But what impact does your business have on the economy? And how does the state of the economy shape how you run your business? Let's take a look.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#SmallBusinessStory - Mrs Chill’s Ice Cream Parlour 🍦
Bionic chatted to Corrie Hill, who runs Mrs Chill's Ice Cream Parlour. We found out how she started and how she combats the winter as a seasonal business.
Bionic: How did you start your business?
Corrie Hill: “Originally, I was a primary school teacher and taught for 15 years in inner city Birmingham schools, but it was really hard and I burnt out before I was 40. So, I moved to this beautiful little town by the river called Bewdley. There was an ice cream parlour here and I absolutely love ice cream. I’ve always had this dream about one day owning a parlour by the river. This one was already here and within a few months I heard through the grapevine that it was coming up for sale. I desperately wanted to leave teaching, so I bought the ice cream parlour and I've never looked back. It’s the best thing I've ever done!
B: What has been your biggest struggle as a business owner?
CH: With struggles, it's always going to be the weather for my line of product. I'm completely in the hands of the elements. If it's a horribly cold day or if it's snowing then footfall is going to be low. For the first couple of years, I thought ‘I'm going to open and diversify’. So, I tried doing hot food and jacket potatoes. I bought a jacket potato oven and started selling soups, but people just couldn't make that connection between us being an ice cream parlour in the summer and doing jacket potatoes and soup in the winter.
B: How have you adapted to the cost of living crisis?
CH: I've got huge freezers and a huge soft serve machine. So, when the prices went up, it really hit me hard. My prices actually tripled per month and that was a panic. Also, I appreciate that ice cream is a luxury item, it's a treat. It's not going to be a necessity for people. They need to buy their staples first and then if they've got any money left over, they might buy treats,” she says, “so I was very conscious about putting my prices up. I worried that I could be pricing myself out of that treat market. So, instead, I turned off a couple of my freezers in the stock room and increased my delivery days so that I wasn't storing as much stock.”
B: Do you think there was enough practical information out there when you were first starting up?
CH: I was massively stressed, I didn't have any clue! I came from being a primary school teacher to then suddenly being given the keys and told ‘here's the business, off you go.’ I was just thinking ‘oh, my God, what do I do?’, I was on the internet all the time, on Google, looking at forums. I joined networking groups and bought books. Even small things like setting my prices, I had no idea how to do that. I was looking at competitor’s prices to begin with, but then I had to take into account that some of my products were better quality or more expensive for me to buy,” she explains, “so I had to understand profit margins and start doing my accounts. I’m absolutely still learning, every day is a school day.”
B: Do you feel like you’ve made connections with your customers?
CH: It’s quite funny, we have a bit of a joke, you can tell by the customer which flavour they're going to order. The grandparents are usually rum and raisin or vanilla. The kids are often bubble gum or something sweet. The mums usually like ‘very cherry’, blackcurrant, clotted cream or a’ heavenly honeycomb’. It depends on the customer and their age. We’ve also got the classic Mr Whippy, the traditional soft-serve with a flake.
Read more from Corrie over at the Bionic website. Check out the full interview on YouTube or by watching the video below.
📨 SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to The Backbone to get each fortnightly edition into your inbox at 7 am every other Friday. Perfect for a quick read at breakfast or on the commute.
📊 BUSINESS
Get your business costs sorted 💷
Bionic - the business price comparison experts - compare a range of business essentials to help you save time, money, and hassle.
Our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms, and help you find the best deal on business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance. No jargon. No-fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
🔊 LISTEN
Playlist 🎵
Have you ever noticed how the third track on an album is always an absolute gem? Track Number Three is the playlist that proves the rule. Put together by Les, Senior Content Manager at Bionic, it has Beck, Jamiroquai, Air, Nirvana, The Chemical Brothers, MF Doom, Shack, Wire, Gil Scott-Heron, Mariah Carey, Tom Misch, SPINN, IDLES, and loads more.
Podcast 🎙
This isn’t the first time we’ve included Macrodose - the podcast from James Meadway, director of the Progressive Economy Forum, that breaks down all things economics into bite-sized podcasts. Now is a good time to revisit it as the Election Economics series looks at all the major parties and how their policies may (or may not) shape the economy.
👩🤝👩🏾 SHARE
If you love The Backbone (or even if you just quite like it) share it with someone who has equally great taste in email newsletters.
🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
Check your folders 📁
If The Backbone isn’t landing in your inbox every other Friday, please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If it isn’t in your spam folder, it may have been moved to another folder, like ‘Promotions’ or ‘Social’.
🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
Carry on the conversation at our Bionic socials 🤳
Please leave a comment and let us know if there’s anything else we should be featuring.
And don’t forget to send this link to all your friends and get them to subscribe ✌🏻