2021 was a difficult year for everyone, but small businesses have bore the brunt of the strain with lockdowns, difficulty in purchasing and ordering and consume reluctance to head back to the high street. But as we enter 2022, with a little uncertainty still remaining, there are still things for small businesses to look out for. As the small business partner, Direct365 have put together a small business guide to tackling 2022.

COVID protocols

It’s a sad situation, but COVID will still be going on. With new variants present, the possibility to lockdowns and restrictions returning, you’re going to need to keep an eye out. But regardless of what happens you will still need to play by COVID rules. That means sanitiser, facemasks and possibly social distancing. This may reduce your capacity, but planning in advance can help ensure you get the most footfall out of the measures in place. Regardless, you need to be ready with the right cleaning services and PPE.

Brexit

While Brexit is done and dusted, the aftershocks are still rumbling on. Many businesses have has stock issues, and while it might not be affecting your stock, it’s probably having a squeeze elsewhere. Things will, eventually, even out. And maybe things will improve. But for now you may find trouble importing especially from Europe. This is also linked to COVID, but as Brexit settles down, things may still be sticky for small firms.

COVID loan repayments

This may or may not apply to you, but as COVID hit and the Government came to the rescue of so many businesses with loans and tax deals, the time to start paying this money back is nye. This gets difficult if restrictions start to pinch once more and businesses have a difficult time balancing making and repaying money. While hopefully the Government continue to make the right call when it comes to COVID finances, everything is still up in the air.

Green expectations

This may be at the wrong time for some, but there are going to be growing green expectations on businesses as we move forward and onward after COP26.

It is up to the large businesses to take most of that strain, but customers are still going to have the desire to shop with companies who are taking the initiative on sustainability. For you, this means creating a green strategy, or implementing your current one. Investing in this area will only be helpful in both short and long run. If you’re a small business in 2022, you need to be aware of green changes.

Customers choose brands they care about

There’s been a trend of recent years for customers to shop with brands they care about. This can mean different things to different people, but largely focussed on sustainability, ethics and fair trade. Social media has become a major too in marketing small businesses, so if you’re a brand that relies on word-of-mouth and consumer buzz to push your products/services, then you may be in luck.

Work from home trends

Working from home had been becoming a trend before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Yet when the world needed to adapt, work-from-home measures became the norm for many employees. This trend will continue and may well excel the changes post-pandemic. While your business may not want to make that an option, times are changing and it’s worth listening to your employees and their desires around work/life balance.

There are so many changes that look to be coming through for your small business in 2022. The day to day running of your business may not change too much, but some of these situations may end up having a long-lasting affect on your business.

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