A brief glimpse of the television news or a glance at a newspaper headline and three things are certain: -
- Asylum seekers are over-running the country
- It is almost certain that you will be attacked by a 5-year old if you leave your home
- That a recession is about to return us to the dark ages.
If you take everything our grim-faced newscasters tell us as gospel, you’ve got to ask yourself why you should get out of the bed in the morning. Of course, for the TV news-vultures, bad news is always the only news worth reporting. For our ambulance-chasing written media, “Bad things happening” is always worth the column-inches.
Everyone is trying to talk us into a recession, and it is worrying how easily we all fall into step with the negativity.
What no one seems keen to talk about is the years of growth and profit, which precede any temporary downturn in the economy as a whole. There is also little mention of the fact that a slow down is exactly the right time to invest some of the recent gains in updating your equipment and refreshing the look of your premises. This way your company is ready to hit the ground running when trading conditions improve, and take advantage over companies who were too scared to invest just because Declan Curry had a frightened-looking face on Breakfast television.
The shoe repairer has the added advantage of being in an industry, which promotes thrift, recycling and a movement away from the throwaway aspect of society. In coming years the chances are that the public will grow tired of buying cheap footwear which is worn out and then thrown out soon after. Embracing quality footwear and renewing this footwear may well be the way forward in these times when re-using and renovating are the watchwords.
The repairer also has the advantage that they are a quality craftsman on a High Street full of spikey-haired, trainee-wannabies. Knowledge of their craft, and the opportunity to interact in a very close and personal way with their customers will always give the quality repairer the edge. Even in these “dark days.”