Trust
The Chalkboard Menu Is a Promise Written This Morning
A chain menu was locked in months ago, maybe longer. Someone in a head office, somewhere, signed it off for the season and moved on. The chalkboard menu on the wall of your local…
Why 'Worked at a Small Business' Is the Best Line on Any CV
Four words tell me more than four pages of corporate history. Worked at a small business. That is the line I look for, and most recruiters scroll straight past it.
The Shop That Has Been There 35 Years and Nobody Knows How
Every town has one. You walk past and it is always dead. No queue, no passing trade, no Instagram presence. And yet, somehow, the owner is still there. Still at the bench. Still…
A Booked-Out Independent Is Not a Problem
Someone in my comments said they tried to support the high street but the tradesperson was booked out for six weeks. They meant it as a frustration. I want to flip that completely.
Why the £5 Seaside Donut Is Not a Rip-Off: The Maths Behind the Summer Window
That £5 donut is not greed. It is a business doing twelve months of arithmetic in three.
Chain Owners Are Keeping the Family Name Above the Door at Garden Centres
The sign says one thing. The ownership structure says another.
Your barber has been watching your whole life. That is not a haircut.
A hundred thousand people watched my barbershop video in a single day. I have been doing this long enough to know what the comments will look like before I read them. But this…
The Barbershop Is Not Just a Barbershop
A barber shop to men is more than just a haircut. That is not my line. That is what the barbers themselves said after a video I made about independent barbershops hit a hundred…
A Wedding Is Twelve Independent Businesses All Working Together
Someone sent this to me on keepthemopen.com and I have not stopped thinking about it since.
Why Independent Hotels Give Britain a Better Tourism Industry Than the Chains
Nobody who books a holiday expecting to discover a city actually wants to check into the same lobby they could find in any airport on earth. They want someone who has been…
Tell your independent owner why you keep coming back
The person behind the counter at your local does not know if they are going to make it this month.
The Free Eye Test Is Not a Gift: Why Loss Leaders Cost Independent Opticians Their Livelihood
Nothing is ever free. That is the whole argument, and if you take one thing from this, take that.
Why an Independent Hotel Gives You Britain, and a Chain Gives You Nowhere
Nobody wants a chain hotel. They think they do, because the booking is easy and the loyalty points feel like something, but what they actually want is a place with a person in it.
Why the Market Is Cheaper Than the Supermarket for British Groceries
The market is the cheapest place to buy your groceries in the UK. Most people under forty have never even been to one, and that is not an accident.
Why I Still Take the Black Cab: The Case Against Taxi Apps
Walk out of a London terminus and your phone already knows what you want. An app, a pin, a car in four minutes. I don't want it.
Britain Backed a Teenage Creator Overnight. The High Street Needs the Same Energy.
A British teenager got a million followers in three days. That is the starting point, and it matters more than it sounds.