17th May 2026

The Hidden Burden of Small Business

One of the most frustrating things about running a small business is the sheer amount of administration involved.

Forms.
Paperwork.
Compliance.
Processes.

It feels endless.

And what makes it worse is that most of it seems to have been designed by people who have never actually run a small business themselves.

The most precious resource when you are running a business is not money.

It’s time.

And the real skill is deciding how to spend that time on things that will genuinely move the business forward.

Filling in forms is rarely one of them.

The Business of Running a Business

Sometimes it feels as though governments have forgotten something important:

Small businesses already have enough to do simply trying to survive.

Yet layer after layer of administration keeps being added.

The irony is that politicians constantly talk about growth, entrepreneurship, and supporting small business — while simultaneously creating systems that drain time and energy from the very people trying to create that growth.

If there’s one thing I would ask government to do, it’s simple:

Make the business of running a business easier.

Because for many small business owners, the paperwork itself is becoming a second job.

Politics and Business Plans

For those of us interested in politics, this week has been fascinating.

But watching politics always reminds me of something else:

Political parties and businesses make exactly the same mistake.

They write manifestos.
They write business plans.
And then they spend years trying to force reality to follow them.

But life doesn’t work like that.

In my experience, the moment you finish writing a business plan, you might as well throw it in the bin.

Because almost nothing will happen exactly as planned.

The Real Skill: Adaptation

The people who succeed are not necessarily the ones with the best plan.

They are the ones most capable of adapting.

Pivoting.
Responding.
Adjusting.

Circumstances outside your control can destroy the best strategy overnight.

And that is true in politics, business, and life itself.

The Great Fear — Uncertainty

I’ve spoken before about uncertainty because it remains one of my favourite subjects.

Human beings are terrified of it.

Everything about modern society is built around trying to reduce uncertainty:

Savings.
Insurance.
Career plans.
Five-year strategies.

We spend huge amounts of energy trying to make life predictable.

But I’ve always believed something very simple:

There is only one thing certain in life — and that is life is uncertain.

So why spend so much time fighting it?

Making Uncertainty Your Friend

My philosophy is straightforward.

Rather than fear uncertainty, embrace it.

Hold it close.

Because the closer you get to uncertainty, the less frightening it becomes.

You stop saying:
“What if things go wrong?”

And instead start saying:
“Whatever happens, I’ll find a way through it.”

That mindset is incredibly liberating.

Because one of the biggest causes of stress is the belief that you must have all the answers before moving forward.

You don’t.

Running a Shop Is Daily Uncertainty

Running a shop is a constant exercise in uncertainty.

One week things are going brilliantly.

The next week something entirely outside your control knocks you sideways.

A few weeks ago, the tube strikes badly damaged our trade.

This week things improved.

And now we’ve discovered there’s another strike planned next week.

That is retail.

You can’t control the weather.
You can’t control transport strikes.
You can’t control global events.

All you can control is your response.

The Importance of Faith

Which brings me to something important:

Faith.

Not necessarily religious faith — although for some people it may be that.

I mean faith in yourself.

Faith that somehow you will find a way through.

Because when you run a business, especially for a long time, you realise something:

You will never eliminate uncertainty.

So the only sensible thing to do is build confidence in your ability to deal with it.

Closing Reflection

After more than 20 years of running a business, I’ve learned this:

If I had spent all my time trying to avoid uncertainty, I would have gone mad long ago.

Instead, I’ve tried to make uncertainty my companion.

Not because it’s comfortable.
Not because it’s easy.

But because hidden within uncertainty are also opportunity, growth, and possibility.

So stop putting yourself under pressure to know all the answers.

Life will hit you from every direction anyway.

The important thing is believing that whatever comes next…

You’ll find a way.

Onwards.