Business

By Dan Goater

dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Rising costs at the petrol pumps are hitting West Dorset’s small businesses hard. And despite Dorset Council’s pledge to spend £2.7million upgrading the county’s electric vehicle charging network, making the switch from petrol vehicles is far from the cure-all many businesses need. Nick Good, chairman of the Bridport Taxi Association and owner of several small businesses, says he knows of at least one cabbie in the town who can no longer afford to work. “The cost of fuel just got to be prohibitive for him,” Nick said. “For the amount of money he was spending on petrol and what he was making back, he found it just wasn’t worth it. “It’s been a struggle for taxi drivers in West Dorset for quite a time. We’ve made it through the pandemic, which basically shut us down for months on end, and now we’ve been hit with this fuel hike.” Mr Good, who drives a taxi and owns Chesil Theatre Supplies and Gen Alarms, said most fulltime taxi drivers in the Bridport area drive between 600 and 1,000 miles each week. He said: “Filling a tank used to cost around £80, but now it costs almost double that. And most drivers can do that twice a week, the costs mount up quickly.” On electric vehicles, Mr Good said: “These cars still only have a range of about 250 miles at best. “If you’re driving 500 or more miles per week for your business, then you would need to have a dedicated site with charging points. “And you’re going to spend quite a while off road while your vehicle charges – that means lost income and it doesn’t work for taxi drivers.” Mr Good’s sentiment about electric vehicles is echoed by handyman Ben Holland, who works in and around Bridport and Beaminster. “I used to spend around £80 per week on petrol but now it’s up to about £120 a week,” Mr Holland said. “These days if a job is too far out of town, then I have to say no to it or tell customers that I will basically have to charge for petrol as well. “For a lot of companies, they say that’s not worth it for them. Prices may have to start creeping up to cover the cost of everything, including fuel. I don’t think it would be helpful moving over to an electric vehicle. “Every now and then I get offered work in London but, trying to get there in an electric vehicle, you only make it about halfway before having to stop and charge again. “If I had to do that all round Dorset every week as well, it’s a lot of lost time.” When asked how small businesses with high fuel costs can ride out the current storm, Rob Muhl, president of Bridport Business Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. “It is likely that many businesses, particularly in hospitality and tourism may have to make changes to deal with what the next few months may hold. “The chamber is here for all businesses and I would urge people to join us. “As an independent business owner and as the chamber president, I am only too aware that rising fuel costs and, as a result, the fast-rising prices of so many goods is really putting the pressure on us all. Coming out of two years of covid restrictions, it is disappointing in the extreme that this winter looks set to be so difficult for so many. “We hope that businesses had a good summer and have reserves to get them through the winter.” Dorset Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ian Girling added: “We are extremely concerned at the soaring inflation and energy costs, including fuel, facing Dorset businesses. We are calling on the government to do all they can to properly support businesses in this extremely challenging economic climate.”

Small businesses suffering as fuel prices on the rise

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Nick Good and, right, Rob Muhl

By Miranda Robertson

miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A group of volunteer business mentors are offering support to business owners as we head towards recession. Dorset Business Mentors, or Dormen, have 120 volunteers with a wide variety of backgrounds. Many of them have been through recession more than once, and can offer people practical ways to keep their heads above water. Charles King, 72, from Uplyme, has been a mentor for five years, a role he took on after retiring from a career owning restaurants and wine bars. He has experienced the sharp end of recession –managing to keep his businesses afloat during the downturn, then having his properties repossessed as the economy recovered and the buildings’ values rose. He said: “Wine bars are hit hard in recession – what happens is wages remain the same, as do rents, which can even go up – but people drink much cheaper alcohol. “One of my bars was near the ITN studios and sold mostly champagne at £23 a bottle. When the recession hit, customers traded down to white wine at £12 a bottle, with a much lower margin. “So while on the face of it you look just as busy, your gross profit is much less. “Then you have a shortage of good staff and then everyone asks for salary increases – it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Charles and the other Dormen want businesses to take an urgent and hard look at their current activities. And they are appealing for other experienced business people to join them in helping others. He said: “The message we want to put out there is, batten down your hatches. Look at any vanity projects and shelve them. If you’re thinking of restructuring go ahead, but make sure any changes make you more efficient. “Some people can even expand their businesses in this time – look at ways in which people will be trading down, such as buying refurbished IT equipment rather than new. “The other thing is, keep your bank manager up to date. If you’re looking at your cashflow monthly do it weekly. If you’re doing it weekly, do it daily. “The recession might be quite short this time. But it could be very painful. And when you think in lots of service industries 80% of your income comes from 20% of your customers you have to think ahead and decide whether to invest if things are closing down.” Charles’ interest in being a mentor was sparked by his own experience, working for a large brewer, who teamed its employees up with impartial managers to help them grow. He said: “We’ve got about 120 mentors but we want to increase that considerably. The time commitment is never more than one meeting a week n To sign up for mentoring, or as a mentor, go to dorsetbusinessmentors.uk

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD: Experts are predicting a recession but Charles King, inset below, and fellow Dorset business mentors are offering advice and support Business mentors offering support as recession looms