Spotlighting the good days and bad days of small business

Being a small business owner is one of the greatest adventures anyone can embark on. It’s a journey full of good days, but it also comes with bad days. It’s important to recognise that these ups and downs are a normal part of the journey that every small business owner goes through.

Our new social series, Good Days, Bad Days, shines a light on the realities of small business ownership, as told by our customers. We’ve used documentary-style videos to tell the stories of seven small business owners from Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK and Singapore. They candidly describe the challenges they’ve faced, as well as the most rewarding moments that remind them why they started their business. 

Throughout the making of Good Days, Bad Days, we sought to understand the mindset of small business owners – what they do to overcome the bad days and enjoy the good ones. The unique insight we found was that adaptability has been key to these small businesses on their entrepreneurial journey.

Meet the small business owners

• Cenmar from the US, a former C-suite executive who left the corporate world to find real meaning and founded a restoration and construction company.
• Cat from New Zealand, who transformed her travel blog into a travel game product.
• Jenny from the UK, who has been in business over 20 years, adapting from bricks and mortar to ecommerce as technology changed how we shop. 
• Dua who moved from being the Head of an Engineering department in Jordan to a new home in Australia and a shift to owning a small business in the beauty consulting sector. 
• Tilmann in New York whose beauty brand was in the best retail spaces in the world but pivoted towards direct-to-consumer in an ever evolving retail landscape.
•  Jessica, who is based in the UK, has trained thousands of people in the art of jewellery making through her Jewellers Academy, and has designed her life to suit her after going through a period of burnout from overworking.
• Rachel, based in Singapore, left her highly successful career to leave a meaningful impact on the world by having a positive impact through her sustainable business model that supports people in developing countries through responsible sourcing.

These stories complement our Small Business Index, part of the Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) program, by connecting the economic performance of the sector with the emotional side of running a business.  

You can watch the introductory video now on our YouTube channel, and keep an eye out for new episodes over the next seven weeks as we take a deep dive into the entrepreneurial journeys of these small business owners.