1. Chamberlink OCT 1-30.qxp_Chamberlink 29/09/2021 12:15 Page 4
Opinion
Editor’s View By John Lamb
Our enterprising firms deserve more support e have recorded many times the remarkable spirit and determination of firms in our parish to battle through thick and thin. Running a business is a difficult enough enterprise in any circumstances but when earthquakes like the financial crash, Brexit, Covid-19 and skills shortages hit you it’s surprising anyone continues to thrive. At least two of our stories this month demonstrate how small businesses have been battling the odds to stay alive. Tracey Stephenson and Paul Taylor took the brave decision to develop luxury apartments at the top of Birmingham’s Rotunda after the famous landmark had gone through a top to bottom refurbishment (see The Griffin Report on pages 20 and 21). They set up a little property company and when they had all their plans in place, the financial crash happened. They had to scale back their ambitions. But they put themselves “on the line”, as Tracey says, and borrowed to fit out the apartments. Despite the stress they went from strength to strength and now the future of their luxury apartments business is bright – especially from the top of the Rotunda and the magnificent views. Also in Birmingham, an expanding samosa maker is struggling to stay afloat because the owner cannot find enough staff to run the business (see page 5). Afia’s Samosa Shop moved to new premises at Phillips Street Industrial Estate in Aston, in 2019, which is when its problems began.
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FRONT COVER: Tracey Stephenson and Paul Taylor on the balcony of a Staying Cool apartment at the Rotunda See pages 20-21
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4 CHAMBERLINK October 2021
Owner Afia Akram’s attempts to secure a local workforce went badly, with many people leaving after just a short period with the business, sometimes as little as one day. Despite using the Government’s ‘Kickstart’ progamme, she had no applicants. The only reason the business is still going is because of Afia’s own efforts, taking on every role from making the samosas to selling and dispatching them. Her determination to keep going deserves credit from every quarter of Birmingham and we wish Afia well. The country is littered with hundreds of businesses like Staying Cool and Afia’s Samosa Shop battling to get launched and then fighting to stay alive. There is little doubt that the UK is experiencing labour shortages in certain sectors, including transportation and care homes, both of which have been well documented. But hospitality is also suffering and one of the biggest reasons is that restaurants, pubs and others have suddenly reopened at the same time. So we went from no jobs in restaurants to more jobs than they could fill, including positions like chefs and waiters. Businesses like Staying Cool and Afia’s could not be more diverse and demonstrate what an amazing breadth of cultural ambitions Birmingham has. That is why the Chamber along with other institutions like the Department of Work and Pensions and Birmingham City Council are working hard to address all workplace issues – and our hard-working, enterprising and resilient businesses deserve nothing less.
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