I Blame Jeremy Clarkson For This Blog...

I started watching the new series of Clarkson's Farm recently (yes, I know, some of you may already be judging me 😂) and something Jeremy Clarkson said in the very first episode of the latest series really made me stop and think.

He was talking about his new venture, The Farmer's Dog pub, and how much stock had been stolen since opening.

Now, when he mentioned glasses being stolen, I have to admit I have probably "accidentally adopted" a pub glass or two in my lifetime.

You know the ones...

They somehow make their way into your kitchen cupboard and suddenly become part of the family.

But then he said people had stolen the light bulbs.

The light bulbs!

Who goes into a pub and thinks, "Lovely atmosphere in here... I'll just take one of those bulbs home"?

That was the moment I found myself talking back to the television.

And then, as my brain normally does, it started wandering...

Because this isn't really about Jeremy Clarkson or light bulbs.

It got me thinking about small businesses.

As many of you know from my recent summer newsletter, I had a tester lip product stolen from the clinic.

Now, before anyone says, "It's only a tester"...

That's not really the point.

The point is that someone took something that didn't belong to them and probably didn't stop to think about the person who had paid for it.

Because every little thing in a small business has a cost.

Every tester.Every product.Every towel.Every piece of equipment.Every decoration (and we all know I take decorating very seriously 😂).

We pay for all of it.

And it's not just Jeremy Clarkson's pub or my little clinic.

Theft seems to be everywhere at the moment.

You can't watch the news without seeing stories about shoplifting, small newsagents and independent shops having to install more cameras, lock products away, and deal with stock disappearing.

And it honestly makes me wonder...

Are we all really that much poorer?

Or have we become less empathetic?

Do we care less about how our actions affect other people?

Have we become so disconnected that taking something from a small business doesn't feel like taking from a real person?

I don't know the answer.

Maybe it's a mixture of everything.

The rising cost of living, financial pressures, the way the world is changing, and the fact that we spend more time interacting with screens than with people.

But what I do know is this:

Behind every small business is a real person.

A person who has taken a risk.

A person who worries.

A person who works hard.

A person who probably doesn't show you the stress behind the scenes.

Now I know what some of you are thinking...

"Alison, Jeremy Clarkson is a multi-millionaire. He'll survive a few missing glasses."

And you're probably right.

Although I have to admit, before Clarkson's Farm I wasn't exactly his biggest fan.

Which is funny really...

Because I didn't actually know him.

I had formed an opinion of someone I'd never met.

Which is a whole other blog in itself!

How can we dislike someone we don't know?

The media shows us the version they want us to see.

Social media shows us a tiny snapshot.

TikTok gives us 30 seconds with dramatic music and subtitles.

None of it is the whole picture.

Anyway... before I disappear completely down that rabbit hole, let's get back to small businesses.

The same people who say they are sad to see independent shops, pubs and businesses closing are sometimes the same people who ask for discounts, cancel last minute, or think taking something small doesn't matter.

But here's the reality.

When you ask a huge company for a discount, it might not make much difference.

When you ask a small business for a discount, you could be asking the owner to lose part of their wage.

And let's be honest...

Most small business owners are not sitting at home surrounded by piles of money like a cartoon villain.

By the time we've paid rent, electricity, stock, insurance, training, software, card fees, accountants, and all the other costs nobody sees, what is left is often very different from what people imagine.

And then there are the hours.

Most small business owners don't work 9-5.

We work before opening.

We work after closing.

We answer messages.

We order stock.

We do paperwork.

We plan.

We worry.

We learn.

We probably think about the business while brushing our teeth, cooking dinner, and sometimes at 3am when our brain decides that is the perfect time to review everything we've ever done.

But we chose this.

And yes, we did.

We knew starting a business was risky.

We knew the first few years would be hard.

We knew we'd make mistakes.

We knew we would have to learn as we went.

But we did it anyway.

Because we wanted to create something personal.

Something human.

Something where people feel cared for in a world that can sometimes feel increasingly impersonal.

And that is why supporting small businesses matters.

Because when you support a small business, you aren't supporting a faceless company.

You're supporting a person.

You're helping someone continue doing something they love.

And trust me...

We'd much rather you take home glowing skin and a great experience than one of our light bulbs. 😂

😂 Be honest... have you ever "accidentally adopted" something from a pub/shop?

Change Image

• 0%🙈 Yes... but only once!
• 0%😇 Never — I’m an angel

If you've got an opinion on this, think I've completely lost the plot, or are wondering where on earth my brain disappears to half the time, please leave a comment.

I genuinely read every single one.

Now you know why I'm constantly tired.

My brain takes the scenic route through absolutely everything.

I started with Jeremy Clarkson, ended up talking about theft, society, empathy, and small businesses...

Nothing to do with skin whatsoever.

But if you've ever been to the clinic, you'll know this is pretty much how my normal conversations go!

One minute we're talking about your skin, the next we're discussing the meaning of life, why people steal light bulbs, and somehow we'll probably end up back at SPF.

This is exactly why my brain works in mysterious ways... 😂