SUPPORTING SMALL, LOCAL & INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES WITH FRESH ACCOUNTING

Written by Nefelie Kalavrezou in collaboration with Fresh Accounting 

Throughout the current climate of Covid-19, small, local & independent businesses have particularly been hit hard, testing their resilience during such uncertainty. It especially proved challenging for businesses within the food and beverage sector, where up to 70% of Hong Kong’s restaurants faced closures amidst social-distancing measures, according to a poll conducted by SCMP at the end of 2020. In turn, the unprecedented consequences of the pandemic highlighted even further the importance of supporting small, local and independent businesses. In this article we explore why this is the case and how Fresh Accounting is supporting some of Hong Kong’s most loved independent food businesses.

By supporting a small business, you’re also supporting the local community by directly helping to stimulate the local economy. One study found that the money spent on these local businesses, around 68% will circulate within the community itself as opposed to spending on large businesses where the money is absorbed further away. Undoubtedly, these independent businesses are the heart of the community, collectively contributing towards the diversity of culture and local development. They also help to bring other businesses, as well as people, together. Because of this, more and more people are demanding that businesses exist beyond profit. With all of this being said, local businesses have great responsibility more than ever to help our local communities and  economies thrive. The popular phrase ‘the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts’ can certainly be applied here.