Are Small Businesses Doing Everything They Can To Survive?
Kim Lindsay
Helping change-makers (project • product • founders) deliver strategy that succeeds | The One Day Beyond Delivery Toolkit
Every day in the UK, over 800 businesses close their doors for good. Rising costs, tighter margins, and shifting customer expectations mean it’s never been tougher to survive, let alone thrive.
But are businesses really doing everything they can to succeed? Or are too many focused on just working harder at the same thing, rather than diversifying slightly or thinking outside the box?
Below I go through five simple changes that businesses can make, all linked to my background and experience. They’re not a silver bullet for every business, but I’ve seen them make a real difference.
1. Make Better Use of Your Space
Costs are rising, footfall is falling, and many retailers are stuck with expensive space that isn’t earning its keep. But that space could be working harder.
Take parcel lockers. The UK locker market is booming, worth £860 million in 2025 and projected to more than double by 2031. Already, 115 million parcels a year are delivered or returned via lockers, and two in five UK adults have used one.
For businesses, hosting a locker is low-risk and high-reward. Providers cover installation and maintenance, but the real win is footfall:
That’s £13.7 billion of potential uplift for UK retail.
I’ve worked on parcel strategy in the past during my time at Post Office Ltd with Anna Malley , Director of Partnerships and Acquisition at Royal Mail , who is leading this market transformation. Her vision, backed by the strength of the Royal Mail brand, is set to make lockers a mainstream part of UK retail. For small businesses, that means a practical, low-risk way to turn underused space into new footfall and fresh sales.
2. Stop Treating Online as the Enemy
Many small high street retailers still see online as a threat to their stores. But the truth is the opposite: the two feed each other.
Customers don’t think in channels anymore — they just shop in the way that suits them best. They might scroll social media for inspiration, check stock on their phone, and then walk into a store to try or collect. The journey is seamless, and businesses that support this behaviour win more often.
In 2025, £7 of every £10 spent in UK retail still happens in-store. Yet most shoppers move between online and offline: only 7% shop exclusively online, while 73% use multiple channels in a single journey. Omnichannel customers also have a 30% higher lifetime value and generate 80% more store visits.
Even if you don’t sell online, an online presence matters. Customers research before they buy, check stock availability, and want click & collect or simple return options. Without it, they’ll go to a competitor who offers the convenience.
In fact, the most successful online businesses are strengthening their retail presence to give customers a much richer experience. This was my experience at EE where, under Retail Director Asif Aziz OBE , whose strategy won the Retail Week award for Best Retail Transformation — EE doubled down on physical stores while modernising their digital presence. Footfall rose dramatically, online sales grew, and overall the business became more successful across every channel.
The magic wasn’t choosing between online or offline, it was blending the two.
That’s the lesson for smaller businesses too: your digital presence isn’t there to replace your shop, it’s there to strengthen it.
3. Diversify What You Offer
Too many businesses rely on a single product range. In saturated markets, where customers already have plenty of choice, it’s hard to stand out — and competing on price quickly becomes a race to the bottom.
One way out is to diversify into growth markets where demand isn’t fully met. And right now, one of the biggest opportunities in the UK is smart technology:
Many tech players are creating huge growth in this market. Verisure , for example, has become the fastest-growing monitored alarm company in the UK — rapidly building to over 100,000 customers and capturing around a third of the monitored alarm segment. I worked closely with Jose Antonio Gil and the team at Verisure during my time at EE, and saw first-hand how quickly demand builds when you meet a real customer need.
Not every small business needs to start selling smart gadgets. The real point is that future-proofing often comes from stepping into areas of rising demand, not just squeezing more out of old ones.
And this isn’t about chasing risky fads. It’s about backing markets where growth is already strong and set to continue. Eco-friendly products, wellness, convenience, and tech are just a few examples — the principle is simple: follow the growth, not the crowd.
4. Follow Your Passion
This one might surprise you. But sometimes the smartest thing you can do for your business is to step outside of it.
Take Lewis Vines . Lewis worked in my team, and alongside his day job he launched The Everyman Podcast — tackling an issue close to his heart: men’s mental health, addiction, and recovery. Today it has over 80,000 listeners, giving him a credible platform, a strong network, and transferable skills in presenting, influencing, and challenging thinking.
He was already great at his job. But through the podcast his confidence soared, and he became absolutely brilliant — it was such a joy to watch.
For small business owners, your business may already be your passion. But carving out space for something you love — whether creative, community, or cause-led — can bring fresh energy, skills, and perspective that feed straight back into the day-to-day.
And by the way, if you haven’t checked out Lewis’s podcast yet, do, it’s brilliant (and not just for men!).
5. Focus Your Story
One of the biggest pitfalls I see is businesses trying to be everything to everyone. A “vanilla” product and a one-size-fits-all message rarely land. Customers need messaging that resonates with them — something that shows clearly how it fits into their lifestyle.
When we launched smart home security at EE, I brought in Blue Square a UK-based brand engagement agency specialising in raising retail performance through people and insight. With Carl Aelle ’s strategic vision and Nick Edwards ’ amazing delivery, their supersellers in key stores helped us change the conversation completely.
Instead of talking about cameras and alarms, we spoke to what mattered most:
Same product, very different outcome. Because once customers could feel the benefit, they weren’t just buying kit — they were buying reassurance, independence, and freedom.
That’s the power of moving beyond generic. It’s not about shouting louder. It’s about thinking hard about who your best-fit customers are, what matters to them, and how your product can make their lives better.
Final Thought
Running a business today is tough. But tough doesn’t mean impossible.
From using your space differently, to blending online and offline, diversifying what you offer, feeding your passion, and focusing your story. These are five shifts I’ve seen work first-hand. They won’t all be right for every business, but the principle is the same: finding the strategies that unlock growth for you.
That’s where I come in. I can help you step back, see things more clearly, and focus on the customers and opportunities that will make the biggest difference for your business.
👉 If you’d like to explore how, my Beyond Delivery Toolkit is a one-day course designed to give you the tools to make your strategy work in practice. Or we can go deeper together in a focused Sprint to solve a specific challenge.
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