We seem to be bombarded nowadays, with bad news. Job losses, insolvencies, triple-dip recession, austerity, Euro crisis – it seems to go on and on. It’s no wonder then that the country is grinding to a halt, why would anyone even consider going into business, it’s bound to fail isn’t it?

But, are things REALLY that bad, there must be some encouragement, some good news out there, mustn’t there?

If you look at the Companies House statistics, in the year to 28th March 2013, there was a net increase of companies on the register of 192,000 – ok, admittedly, not all of them will become fully fledged businesses, but if only half do, that’s nearly 100,000 potential new employers and contributors to the economy. This doesn’t include sole-traders, partnerships etc., so the numbers are even better. Studies have shown that over the past three years, the private sector has created over a million new jobs, life is returning to the housing market and parts of industry, such as motor manufacturing and its associated suppliers, are flourishing.

And what else?

We have interest rates at record low-levels.

We have new methods of FREE interaction with our customers (and suppliers), via social media, where we can give and receive honest feedback about our services given and received.

We have a wealth of FREE information on the Internet, where we can carry out research about our competitors, legislation and so much more. ALL of this information is now at our fingertips, with mobile devices, so we can always be “in the know”.

We also have amazing technology nowadays, which allow us to automate tasks, increase our productivity and just generally get things done.

So, why is it that this is not being talked about more? Why is it that according to recent research, it is estimated that UK business is currently sitting on balance sheets with cash of an estimated £700 billion?

I guess this is the negative drawback of some of the good things above. TV news, social media and the Internet, seems to only like to give us bad news, which over time, we end up believing is the ONLY news. So, until this, or our beliefs change, perhaps we won’t allow things to get better.

I think this is a shame, because as we have seen above, it’s not all bad. Maybe, I am seeing some of this through some rose tinted spectacles, but as I can see with my business and the businesses that we help and work with, it’s not all bad. With every loser there will always continue to be winners as well.

I wonder what would happen if the Government made “bad news” illegal for a year and that news channels etc. could only give good news for that time, would it make a difference? Who knows, but me, I’m going to keep wearing my groovy rose-tinted specs, and keep searching for those positives, they ARE there, you just have to look in the right place. Go on – give it a try!

And if you are encouraged by this, maybe you are needing further encouragement to start up a business or want help with an existing business, come and talk to me and you will see my passion for the small and micro-business community, hopefully, i can share some with you.