New Year, New Behaviours: Same Economy.
The beginning of a new year has a way of softening our edges. We become more open to change, more willing to reconsider old habits, and slightly more optimistic about trying things differently. It’s the season of fresh starts, new routines, and well-intentioned resolutions.
It’s also a useful moment to pause and reflect on how we show up for South Africa’s young entrepreneurs.
Our everyday behaviours as consumers either make it easier or harder for small businesses to survive and grow.
Small businesses are often spoken about as if they exist on the margins of the economy. In reality, they sit at its centre. They pay rent, support households, circulate money locally, and absorb people that the formal job market consistently leaves behind. For many young people, running a micro-business is not a mere stepping stone; it is their livelihood.
As consumers, we often place the same demands on small businesses that we do on established firms, when large corporations benefit from access, resources and years of experience that are often not available to young entrepreneurs and small businesses. This gap between our expectations as consumers and the support we are willing to give, whether in time, money, or patience, is where many promising businesses struggle.
One small but meaningful shift is learning to value progress over perfection. Young businesses are still refining systems, products, price, and delivery – as all businesses once did. When a service falls short, feedback is far more useful than silence. Disappearing after one imperfect experience doesn’t encourage improvement; it quietly limits opportunity. Give constructive feedback.
Another shift is taking “small” seriously. Respect shows up in practical ways: clear communication, fair expectations and, crucially, paying on time. Delayed payments don’t just inconvenience micro-businesses; they disrupt cash flow, stall growth, and create unnecessary strain. For small businesses, timely payment is not a “nice to have,” it’s essential. Pay on time.
There is also a mindset shift needed around second chances. Many young entrepreneurs are building after disruption – incomplete studies, failed first attempts, or life unfolding in unpredictable ways. In South Africa, linear success stories are the exception, not the rule. Supporting people who are willing to learn, adapt and try again is not indulgent; it reflects the reality of our economy. Appreciate failure; give second chances.
Advocacy, too, plays a bigger role than we often realise. Support doesn’t only happen through transactions. It happens when small businesses are named, credited and recommended publicly. When their work is acknowledged in meetings, tagged online, or spoken about with confidence in rooms they don’t yet have access to. Visibility builds credibility, and credibility creates opportunity. Speak up about small businesses and local entrepreneurs.
Small businesses don’t need saving; they need consistency, access, patience, and advocates who understand that growth is a process. As consumers, our everyday choices can support incremental progress.
As we settle into the year ahead, perhaps one small resolution is worth keeping: support young entrepreneurs in ways that genuinely help them stay in business.
Not loudly.
Not performatively.
Just deliberately.
Sometimes the most meaningful change comes from quiet shifts in behaviour repeated often enough to matter.
