Embrace every revenue stream possible this summer

Vincent Page, of Antiques on High, celebrates one year in business. Picture: Antiques on High (Image: Archant)

As we all settle into our first restriction free summer since 2019, the way we do business is evolving and although it may not be instrumental for every business, are we ready to embrace those changes?

We now live in a world where the immediacy created by the internet encourages us to expect things instantly and this attitude has been applied to many other aspects of our daily lives.

Much as running a traditional business with good old-fashioned values appeals to a lot of people, embracing every revenue stream possible can make the difference between a thriving business and a failing one and let’s face it no one sets off in business with the sole intention of failing.

Much as I struggle to understand this, there are still some businesses that still don’t take card payments and, in a world, where online purchasing can be so prevalent, limiting your business to taking only cash, is inevitably restricting sales to a few quid in your back pocket which may have had its place fifty years ago, but not anymore.

As we look forward to a productive summer, the Folk Festival will be the next big attraction which we all hope will draw thousands of people into the town and making it as easy as possible for people to indulge themselves.

This will no doubt encourage repeat business and turnover but we shouldn’t be reliant on events to draw people in and as a town in general should be able to do so on merit.

Having written a couple of weeks ago about the stalls which appear on the seafront during Folk Festival week it appears I am not the only one who feels that the council or whoever is in charge of the policy to allow it, should review the situation and look at offering local shops a subsidised opportunity to have a presence in the location as those who seem to appear there do so without paying any rates and having the responsibility of committing to a lease.

We have in the past had stall holders come into our store attempting to buy stock at discounted prices so they can rush back down to the seafront and resell it with a vast margin and I am sure we are not the only ones.