Small Business Survives Purely on Optimism and Coffee

Small Business Survives Purely on Optimism and Coffee — Outlook Stable

The small business community of the Helderberg area, which encompasses the full geography from the upmarket boutiques of Somerset West through the practical commerce of Strand to the harbour-adjacent enterprises of Gordon’s Bay and the farm stalls and family concerns along the R44, operates, when examined closely, on a model that its participants describe in strikingly similar terms regardless of sector, location or years of experience.

“Optimism and very good coffee” is how one café owner put it and versions of this formulation — with the specific beverage sometimes varying but the optimism constant — emerged across eleven separate conversations with business owners in the area over the course of a week.

A woman who runs a gift shop near the Strand beach road and has been open for seven years said: “There is no rational model that explains why I’m still here. The rent has gone up twice. The foot traffic is seasonal. I have no franchise support and no investors. What I have is the belief that Saturday is going to be better than Friday and usually it is, just enough.” A man who opened a second-hand bookshop in Somerset West during a period of economic uncertainty that he now refers to as “not the ideal timing, in retrospect” has been trading for four years and reports that he has never had a great month but has also never had the month that was going to be the last one, which he considers a philosophy as much as a business model.

The swallows, returning each September to their farms and their seasonal arrangements with the confidence of people who have another home to return to, represent a different economic model entirely. They note the optimism of local traders with what appears to be warmth. Year-round Helderberg business owners note the swallows’ seasonal flexibility with what appears to be warmth also and what is possibly something else as well, which no one is impolite enough to name directly.

The small businesses continue. Tuesday is usually better than Monday. This turns out to be enough.

The Helderburger accepts no responsibility for weather, traffic, parking or the opinions of persons encountered near the basin. The Helderberg mountain was not consulted and cannot be held liable. The old harbour filed no objection. Swallows return in September. We will be ready.