Viewpoint: Small businesses’ fight to survive should not be this difficult

She sells seashells by the seashore, but unless there’s support for a business like hers she’ll sell seashells no more. And you won’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

organ Lilley runs a small, independent jewellery business in Portstewart. It’s environmentally friendly, uses natural resources and is in the perfect spot along the coastline, where the scenic wonder is certainly something worth fighting to preserve.

Today, she tells us of her struggles to keep her seaside business afloat. She’s been cast adrift by the pandemic, then by the cost-of-living crisis, and just when Christmas offered a lifeboat, Royal Mail strikes washed away more of her business.

“I know it sounds silly but if you shop at Amazon, they already have millions. But if you give it [money] to a small business, that goes to their rent or groceries,” said Morgan.

We hear plenty about trying to save the environment, about ‘going green’ and reducing the amount of plastic waste. It shouldn’t be so difficult for someone who is trying to achieve that and run a business at the same time to survive.