I was talking to a mate who's trying to start his own cafe in Sheffield, and he's at his wit's end with all the forms and permits he needs to fill out. It's taking him months just to get the council to approve his plans, and that's before he's even started dealing with the taxman.
I reckon that's a big part of the problem with our economy, all these barriers to entry for small businesses. If we want to get people spending and borrowing for the right reasons, like investing in their own businesses, we need to make it easier for them to get started. That means slashing the bureaucracy and letting people get on with it.
I'm not saying it's all the council's fault, but they're a big part of the problem. Every time you turn around, there's another form to fill out or another fee to pay. And for what, so they can tell you that you're doing it right. It's like they don't trust people to run their own businesses.
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Mock the policy. Not the person. Community principles →
Still, I wonder if there’s a balance to be struck. Some of those regulations, like food hygiene standards or safety checks, are there for good reasons, both for consumers and for the businesses themselves, preventing costly issues down the line. Perhaps the issue isn't the existence of the rules, but how efficiently they're administered.