With the cost of living rising,everyone is feeling under pressure,but none more so than small businesses.I talked to Amy Wilde-Petty from TheLandOfTheCuckoo about the highs and lows of running a small business and balancing it with another job.

 

I began by asking her about the benefits of shopping with small businesses compared to big brands.She replied, ”I think more and more people are shopping online because it's convenient,but you don't get a personal touch,you don`t get handmade -I think it's beneficial for both seller and customer; it's a dying industry at the moment because everyone is struggling”. Amy runs her small business from her kitchen table at her home in West Yorkshire.Alongside her full time job as a graphic designer of greetings cards,she creates bright,colourful prints,and quirky acrylic earrings inspired by her cats and the coast.

 

She continued,”Coming up to Christmas it's really important with lots of Black Friday deals. People tend to shop big,so many small businesses at the moment are struggling.People need their money to pay for heating and things,so customers are thinking a lot harder about where they spend their money.”

 

With many people relying solely on their small businesses for income,it's more important than ever to support them.Amy thinks,”It's definitely better to spend with small businesses because your getting something individual,your getting personal touch,your getting so much more than you get from online retailers.It`s better for the environment isn't it?It's better than a million different boxes turning up at your door.”

 

I asked about the ease of keeping up with trends,with social media platforms such as Instagram being a key platform in businesses customer attraction.Her view was that"Trends can be seasonal,with Christmas there are lots of trends to keep up with.People want to pay very little for things,that`s a trend in itself,and putting a value on your time,putting that in your price;obviously people don`t want to pay a lot for your things,that becomes difficult when the trend of the moment is getting things as cheaply as you can.”She went on to talk about product trends,and mentioned about the amount of competition there is.

 

I questioned her about the difficulty small businesses have faced due to rising costs.“A lot of my friends who have studio spaces are struggling to pay for the spaces because their heating has gone up and prices of materials have increased,so they(small business owners)have to put their prices up.Everyone's struggling,that's why it's important to keep supporting,to keep them going.People will keep designing and making,but more and more people who are self-employed may have to get second jobs.”

 

We finished by talking about the positives of being a part of this quickly growing community,”The thing about being a designer is that it's such a fabulous community,and there`s help there for people.Some people are saying well,I'll drop your parcel off,so you don't have to pay postage.You can come up with a new idea and bring a product out and with Christmas coming up,there`s lots of opportunities to be creative and pick up trends.It`s a great community to be a part of.”

You can support Amy at her Etsy shop and Instagram (@landofthecuckoo) and look out for her at local makers fairs.