Column: Small businesses are the backbone of our economy but who is their backbone?

Have you ever thought about how the businesses in our high streets or community started? How long has that coffee shop been there? Who started it and even what challenges are they facing?

As an entrepreneur I speak to local businesses, chatting to the owners. So far, I speak to businesses in Luton, Hitchin, Stevenage and Dunstable (I love to explore and just to see how they function), experiencing their service and asking them how they are doing.

Small businesses are defined as a business with less than 50 employees and with £10 million or less in revenue (according to HM Revenue). Let’s forget about the numbers for a moment because for some of us our local business like a traditional corner shop or fish shop is always there.

We see several big corporations come and go from our high street; the local and family businesses will always be there for us.

I champion some local businesses, like Phil who has been running Browne & Lewis Ltd with his partner over the past 41 years.

They are well known in the High Town area for quality household linen and curtains. You will be surprised on what this business stands for today.

Phil shares with me that they started by hosting shopping parties around the area and when they finally opened the store, it was and still a very prominent option for people to get quality and traditional household linen.

“Things have really changed now as people come and go” states Phil. What he meant was that customers were homeowners in the area, and everyone used to know each other but now the rental lifestyle is on a high. This hasn’t changed business, but it meant that a business like this simply had to adapt. They are still busy and servicing the community whether they will be a here for long or for a short period.

To make the community feel more welcomed Phil has taken inspiration from his customers by naming some of the products by a name they connect to. For example, he has a couple of curtains named after countries/cities like, Lagos, Abuja and even Tokyo. This demonstrates that there is a need for us to always look inwardly to support businesses in our community. When asked what advice or tip to upcoming businesses owners, Phil said to always give it 110% to the business, especially in the early days and to know your customer.

Five minutes from High Town, I also spoke to Andy who is the owner of Park Street Sandwich Bar, a business which started 43 years ago as a vegetable stall.

“If we could make £200 a day we were good those days”. One recurrent message I hear from long-term business owners locally is them saying things have really changed, not sure if they mean for worse or for better!

When asked to give a tip, Andy also said that to run a business you must be prepared to work hard and shares with me the time he used to work 100 hours a week.

I felt truly inspired talking to these 2 businesses who continue to contribute to our high street in Luton and, above all, to the economy.

> Deborah Abisola is a Bedfordshire-based entrepreneur and the Founder and Managing Director of RevOpsGo, a sales and data agency that helps businesses strengthen their sales and revenue operations through effective processes, technology and data. Beyond her work, Deborah is passionate about community and giving back. She runs a community breakfast club at Strathmore Methodist Church on the first Sunday of every month, with the support of the church and Luton Rising. Deborah is also the producer of the syndicated podcast Corporate Hard Talk, where she explores the realities of working life, business and the corporate world. Her passion for media stems from her academic background in Advertising, Media and Design Management and International Communication. When she’s not working or serving her community, Deborah enjoys connecting with people, spending quality time with family and friends, and equally values having time to herself.