I was reading on the BBC website today that the UK has officially entered into a "double-dip" recession. It seems that ever since 2008 all we read is doom and gloom about the economy. It is easy to become disheartened whether you are an employee or a small business owner when being completely bombarded by such depressing news.
I also watched a programme on TV the other evening about the 1970s. It was fascinating for me to watch as this was the decade in which I grew up. The years on which it focussed were 1973 and 1974 which was also a time of economic gloom. Petrol prices were rising to previously unimaginable levels. Every time you went to the supermarket, prices seemed to have gone up yet again.
The similarities with the situation in which we find ourselves today were remarkable. People's worries and concerns were exactly the same. Not only that, there was a general election that ended up with a coalition government (albeit for a much shorter period).
What this teaches us is that the economic gloom and doom we are experiencing right now is nothing new. Sure, there are some differences but when it comes down to it, a capitalist economy has always gone through and probably always will go through boom and bust. It is the nature of the beast.
The latest crisis was caused by many factors but one of the main undeniable causes was big business, especially the banks. One of the reasons I decided to set up my own small business in Nottingham was that I was tired of working for a large corporation where decisions that were taken were inexplicable at best and downright stupid at worst. At least with my own small business I could make all the decisions, most of which I hope have been very sensible.
Large corporations will always be run by people whose speciality is building a career and protecting their own interests rather than someone who is genuinely interested in making the business succeed. Yes there will be exceptions but in the main, this is true.
However, small businesses must make smart decisions or they will fail and fail quickly. It is for this reason that I believe that small businesses will be the ones who lead us out of this recession. They are the largest employers in the UK and they are small enough to innovate thus providing more and better employment which generates capital which flows through the larger economy.
The banks and the large corporations will naturally benefit from this. So if you are a small business owner in Nottingham or anywhere else in the UK, stand tall and remember that it is people like you, who will make the economic news look much brighter in the very near future.