Jump to content

Recommended Posts

'Raise your glass of cut price cava to celebrate the end of recession-before its too late.

We can talk ourselves into despond or we can at least have a bit of a celebration'. Says tonights Standard.

Lets try to be a bit more positive about the future. (ill have stella instead of cava.)

When I jacked in my last ever day job in July 2007 to start a business I remember sitting in the Drum writing my business plan, over draft maxed and relying on a special Peroni credit system I worked out with Coops.....


Then when the queues started outside Northern Rock and I wondered if it was perhaps the worst single moment in history to do such a dumb thing. But with hindsight the recession has been good for start ups - you can start slowly with lower overheads (like our 3 year office lease in EC2 at 60% below re-recession rates), less competition and the chance to target a product at a customer who's now more cost aware without it disrupting a legacy cost ridden business model. We've also been darn lucky.


The recession has been a great time to start the right kind of business and we've actually benefited from it. My simple view on the wider economy is that we've been massively cushioned by artificially low interest rates and policy dictated by an upcoming election. Bottom line is that at some point we begin to pay it all back - and that simply hasn't started yet. It has to come from increased taxation and reduced public spending. And I'm keen to know what a Tory government would do for small business - e.g. increasing capital gains tax to the main higher rate of 40% will kill any entrepreneurial green shoots unless there are concessions for business owners.


We're not out the woods yet by any means really are we?

SCSB79 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> what do you do MrBen?


I run a chain of curry houses on Lordship Lane from a head office in the square mile. All with different names but the foods exactly the same = nice economy of scale = winner.

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • This is simply untrue. The area is not 2/3 storeys maximum. Hambledon Court is on the other side of tracks from the Jewson site on Burrow Rd, is 8 storeys, and is barely known (let alone bothersome) to most people in East Dulwich. Felbridge House, Petworth House etc on the opposite side of the station from the new development are all 5 storeys tall. East Dulwich Charter (which neighbours the new development) is itself 4-5 storeys (depending on which block you're talking about). What's more, Hambledon Court was finished in about 1978 iirc and no-one has built anything similar around here since then - so the "slippery slope" "genie in the bottle" argument doesn't work either. You can't simultaneously argue that Southwark is too slow in approving new construction but also suggest this will lead to a flood of new high-rise housing! At current rates of approval, we can expect our next 8 storey building to arrive in...2072!
    • I checked - the Hanway Street place was Mandeer - it moved to New Oxford Street I think and was replaced by Hakkasan - very different prices. 
    • Suppose it depends on how many Christmas cards from family and friends you’re waiting to receive. It’s been the Christmas period so surely give the post delivery service some leeway. Like Sue I’ve not posted off so many this year but some I still write letters to  e.g my late mum’s cousins and other family  but hey ho that’s something I do and enjoy.  I used to hand deliver Christmas cards to a lot of neighbours on my street but gave up this year as realised that most of them I don’t see or speak to and can only count on a few to call a true friend or neighbour. 
    • Rose who used to run Grace and Favour has a wonderful shop called Butlers Emporium on george Street in Hastings You'll find it on instagram as butlersemporium3  
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...