DAVID RICHARDSON: Small businesses in the Highlands WILL rise to unprecedented challenges by trading, adapting, employing and serving their communities – but they still need help

Hopes of a quick recovery from the pandemic at the start of the year were quickly dashed by Putin’s Ukrainian ‘adventure’, and here we all are at the end of it in a worse state than ever.

Countless smaller businesses really are struggling under the burden of sky-high costs and narrow margins, shaky consumer demand and significant shortages of staff, but that certainly doesn’t mean that all is lost – far from it.

Highland businesses are extremely dedicated, resilient and adaptable, and their can-do positivity shines out, as was demonstrated at a recent roundtable I organised for the MD of the British Business Bank in Inverness. Businesses from across the Highlands talked about their many and varied problems, but when asked at the end if they were optimistic or pessimistic about the future, they all instantly replied that they were optimistic.

They, and their hundreds of thousands of counterparts across the country, really can take us out of recession by trading, adapting, employing and serving their communities, just as smaller businesses did after the financial crisis of 2007/8.

However, to do so they need support, every sphere and level of government making it as easy and affordable as possible for them to operate to their full potentials.

First, the FSB wants governments to make smaller businesses’ overheads more manageable. No-one could have foreseen how costs would increase and margins be squeezed, and businesses in the most vulnerable sectors need targeted support to keep them alive today so that they can fully contribute tomorrow.

Making it easier for businesses to invest is also essential, for there’s a lot of catching up to do after three years of struggle. Accessing finance cost-effectively is a big issue.

And the FSB wants smaller businesses to be freed from unnecessary or poorly designed regulation. Regulations should only be introduced after they’ve been road-tested and their likely impacts fully assessed, and even then, only when the time is right. It’s not right now. The flawed Short-term Lets Licencing Scheme, Deposit & Return Scheme and Local Visitor Levy tax on visitors are three obvious examples.

Finally, a plea. Tourism is the Highlands’ most important industry, maintaining the viability of numerous rural communities. It’s not a cash-cow to be milked or a cost to be born grudgingly. So, let’s reflect this in our actions, investing more in essential infrastructure and working together to make it work for all.

David Richardson is development manager Highlands and Islands for the Federation of Small Businesses.

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