03/10/2026
SMALL BUSINESS = HUMAN BUSINESS
The costs.
The rules.
The taxes.
The red tape.
The trading environment.
People see a small business that is still standing and think, “they must be doing alright”.
What they don’t see is what it has taken to get there.
To survive to this point has taken more work, sacrifice, adaptation and sheer luck than anyone who hasn’t done it could possibly understand.
It’s the endless running dialogue in your head.
Did the wages get paid?
Did that invoice go out?
Did I pay that other invoice?
Can we afford that repair?
Did we order enough stock?
Did everyone get paid correctly?
What happens if sales drop?
What happens if something breaks?
S**t, did BAS get lodged on time?
And then there’s the part nobody sees — being the one who has to enforce the rules.
Being the one who has to say no.
Being the one who has to deal with the angry customer, the complaint, the cancellation, the refund request, the staff issue, the supplier, the regulator and the bill.
You are the accountant, HR department, marketer, social media manager, cleaner, problem solver and verbal punching bag — usually all in the same day.
To still be standing after all of that takes skill, sacrifice, adaptation, persistence and, sometimes, a ridiculous amount of luck.
So here’s my plea:
Please - just be fu***ng kind to small businesses.
Follow their rules.
Pay the price.
Pay cash if you can.
Don’t walk in demanding a discount, a refund or special treatment outside their normal trading practices just because you think you should get one.
And don’t be a fu***ng as***le to the person behind the counter because you don’t like the answer.
Don’t threaten them with a negative review because you didn’t get your way. And worse still, don’t start a petty fu***ng smear campaign with your mates because a small business wouldn’t give you something outside their normal rules.
Support your local butcher.
The family-owned cafe.
The independent tradie.
The little shop.
The small gym.
Because every time you choose to support a small business, you’re supporting an actual person, a family, a livelihood and a story.
And small businesses have stories. Real stories.
And the beautiful thing is that those businesses often care about your story too.
The owner will stop and take the time to hear how your day is going.
They’ll remember your name.
They’ll know what you’re going through.
They’ll celebrate your wins, worry when you’re struggling, and become part of your community,.
And if they’re a hugger, like me, you might even get one of those too.
You’re not just a transaction.
You’re a person.
And here’s the other thing we risk losing if small businesses disappear:
The feeling that you’re actually dealing with a person.
Imagine a world where every business you deal with is a huge corporation.
Every time you need help, it plays out like this:
After 45 minutes on hold, you finally get through to a “customer service team member” on the other side of the world. . in Manila, or maybe India. . you explain your entire situation.
You pressed 1 for technical support, but somehow it still routed you through to billing.
They would “love to help, but they can’t”, so they put you through to the “right team”.
You’re on hold for another 15 minutes.
Someone answers, but your request is misunderstood.
You explain it again.
Still misunderstood.
You try to explain it again.
Same deal.
You lose your s**t and demand to speak to a supervisor.
They push back, but eventually put you through to someone in middle management.
They promise to call you back.
Twenty-four hours later, they call — and it turns out they misunderstood the first time.
You explain it again.
And eventually, after days and hours of your life have disappeared into phone queues, they may actually correct whatever it was you were dealing with.
Now imagine that being every interaction you have with every business in your life.
No one knows your name.
No one knows your story.
No one remembers the conversation you had last week. Or the issue you were dealing with.
You’re just a customer number.
A ticket number.
An account number.
A call back.
A transaction.
That’s the world we are already at risk of creating by allowing small businesses to disappear the way we have over the past few years.
Fewer choices.
Less competition.
Less personality.
Less community.
Less human connection.
And more faceless corporations where you’re just another number in a system.
So support small businesses, and if you can’t support them, at least don’t be a dick to them.
Not because they need your pity.
Because they are worth fu***ng keeping.
And because, whether you realise it or not, you’re going to miss having actual people on the other side of the counter when they’re gone.
