Frustrated with the current world order? The answer may be closer than you think.........

The world is changing and for a lot of us not in a way we like.  Conversations in the shop are being dominated by talk of tariffs, International markets, social media magnates and the unpredictable actions of The American President. The anxiety of this new world order is palpable over the counter.

It may seem all doom and gloom. I feel it myself. I am frustrated that prominent leaders politically and in business appear to use their  influence and power to pursue self interest rather than use it as a considerable force for good.

However I find the distaste I hear over the counter a cause for hope. I believe a deep resolve is forming in many peoples psyches which will inevitably lead to a powerful response to redress the balance.

I take pride in the conduct and motives of my peers in small local independent business.  I believe they provide a blue print of a far better, kinder and still financially viable alternative. If you will forgive my immodesty. I would like to give you examples from my own shop.

Community- We're not it! We are part of it!  

Indies pride ourselves on giving back to the community that supports us. It's baked in from the start. It is not a box ticking exercise aimed to fulfil some corporate social responsibility policy. 

This year for example Coffee On The Crescent has made financial contributions to Meanwood Valley Farm, Hyde Park Football Club, Rainbow Junktion Food Bank and Hyde Park Harriers, as well as Horsforth Cricket Club  (who I owe a debt to that I can never repay) 

We use our alleged 'trendy' social media presence to actively support and champion  the work of amazing organisations in our community helping them reach an audience they would not usually have access to.

Staff Welfare

Time and again local business make decisions based on how we want to run our business rather than how to maximises profit. Staff members are not a number on a spreadsheet to us.

For example we are a real living wage employer. This is far higher than the new minimum wage which came into force this month. We offer contracted hours in an industry that is dominated by zero hour contracts. This is a choice not an obligation. Believe me it would be far easier to run a business without making these commitments to our staff. My team are worth every penny!

We invest heavily in the training of all our staff and not just coffee skills, skills which will benefit each of them for the rest of their lives.

We believe seeing the same faces behind the counter adds to your  experience and enhances our contribution to Hyde Park by being a genuine and authentic community hub of which our team are an integral part. 

It's hard when they move on, but we always leave them better than we found them. 

We support local

We find suppliers that align with our values. This means that the hard earned pennies you spend in an indie will simultaneously be supporting other amazing businesses with the same ethical beliefs. 

The Environment

We do things not because we have to but because we believe it's important. We  communicate this through our daily actions. What does this look like in practice?

We recycle everything including our coffee grounds. We run our shop with a zero waste mentality and we continue to care for and improve the green space alongside our shop on behalf of our community. 

A financial model based on just numbers would do non of these things because 'the spreadsheet says no' But our spreadsheet says yes and so do the spreadsheets of many other Indies.

You have more power than you think to change the world order. You may just need to adjust where and how you direct your resources and then take a walk to your local high street.

All the love

Tim

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