2019: A year of change

Speciality Bites with

Paul Hargreaves

Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre

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We are living in a time where our sociological, political, environmental and business environment are changing faster than ever before

Just think back five years. Who would have thought that we would be within two months of leaving our trading agreement with Europe? Who would have thought that the USA government would be in paralysis over a wall between Mexico and the USA led by a reality TV star as president? Five years ago, who would have thought that House of Fraser would have gone out of business and that Marks and Spencer was shutting stores? Who would have thought 300,000 people would sign up to Veganuary?

The world is changing and the way we run our businesses will also have to change faster than ever before. The old ways of doing things simply won’t work any longer. Consumers have more power than ever before due to the power of the internet and social media. Traditional businesses have less power than ever before, and consumers will simply walk away from businesses that aren’t treating their people well and improving the environment. Those businesses that were complaining about the living wage coming in have become quieter as they have realised that complaining about paying their people less than they need to live on put them on the wrong side of the moral argument.  Those businesses complaining about environmental taxes have also gone quiet as consumers no longer just expect business not to damage the environment, they want them to be doing something positive to benefit it.

I wrote my book swiftly in 2018 as I think 2019 will be a significant year and businesses will need to change at their core in order to survive. I strongly believe that many more traditional businesses will go under this year as they are still trying to make old methods work in a different age. Sorry if you think I am sounding a little apocalyptic, but I feel a sense of urgency on all this. No need to panic, but just watch the world around you and be open to change and doing things differently. Feel free to steal good ideas from others and be prepared to face opposition from those who don’t like change. That’s most people, by the way. It is time to rock the boat and oppose the status quo. I’m not saying it is easy, but you will come out of it with a better business and a more fulfilled life. We have an in-built creativity within us as human beings. It is time to use it more than ever before.

Hopefully see some of you at our launch shows this week.