In business it is best to avoid measuring your success by someone else's performance.

Sure, aim high, be courageous and do amazing things, but do not peg your mood to the way your business is performing.

When business trades in turbulent times it can be tempting to feel a bit doom-laden. “What's the point?” mindset only leads to framing everything in negative terms. As we step into the great unknown of 2026 I've spoken to quite a few small business owners recently and all seem to be quite pessimistic about the upcoming year.

However, I've lived through many big downturns. It's one of the privileges of age, you witness the cyclic folly of humans in real-time. Right now I don't think there's a magic spell or silver bullet that's going to fix the systemic issues in the heart of the global economy. So, what do you do?

Smile and be kind to people. That's it. When the world seems to be tearing itself apart all you can do is try to ease other people's burden a little. From a helping hand for a neighbour, through to some pro bono work for a worthy cause. The government line is we all need to shoulder the burden a little more. Well, we also need to hold our own end up, no one is coming to save us, we are responsible for our own communities and that means keeping our local economies thriving.

A lot can be done with the right attitude and a smile. Try to do a small favour for someone, ease their burden and ask them to pay it forward, let's send a ripple of goodwill through society and prove to each other we have more in common than those who wish to divide us admit to. Have a prosperous 2026.

By Stuart Morrison