Written by Napoleon Boneparte is said to have dismissed the British as a “Nation of shopkeepers” (“L’Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers”). But maybe it probably isn’t true. This phrase first appeared in a publication by Adam Smith in the seventeen hundreds but for some reason the shame affixed to this remark seems to have remained with us over the decades . The question remains why? There has never been anything wrong with owning your own business and surely there has never been a auspicious time than now.
Ever more people think about starting up their own business. It’s become part of the culture at least in part due to the demise of the British Manufacturing Industry. This fall does mean that complete populations centres and villages are no longer largely employed, and cared for , by a single gigantic industry . Examples are many . The coal mining industry , the steel and metal processing industries, the car industry, well the list continues .
The job for life scene is practically not viable anymore. We have just had an emergency budget and though we do not know the nature of the job cuts in the public sector , it’s a reasonable premise that things won’t be the same from here on in. But this would be logical and it’s obvious to see than the economy can only afford so many public sector workers who use up the public purse.
This then leaves us all with a general difficulty . No more manufacturing, well not on the scale we have since the end of the last world war, and less public sector jobs! What are we all going to do?
Norman Tebbit once uttered an infamous statement:-
” I grew up in the ’30s with an unemployed father. He didn’t riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking ’til he found it.”
Admittedly these were the Thatcher years and unemployment then was nearing 3 million. But so it is now. My arguement is, what’s wrong with being a shopkeeper or a barber or a self employed plumber? Or any one of a horde of other professions that don’t rely on the traditional factory or office work type of system .
I foresee a rise in the number of people who are preparing themselves for self employment in on form or another. Whether it be a growth in the Franchise For Sale market , or freelance contracting in one field or another people simply cannot rely on the jobs for lives that we saw in previous times . It may be that someone turns to a Home Based Franchise, or one of the mobile Franchises , of even go it alone without any help at all. Franchises in general give you a bit of a helping hand but you do need to do your finances before looking at this as a business.
If you do get made redundant then take some advice. It really is possible to set out on your own and make a go of it. A good idea is to look through the Yellow Pages and see which way your skills fit into the existing business market. Possibly look at buying a Home Based Franchise or look at the Franchise For Sale market as a whole for management type Franchises.
And also perhaps consider opening a shop! The retail market is always there and despite what Napoleon may or may not have thought people are always going to buy things ..
