What do we actually care about?
As a business, we believe that our values should run through every element of everything we do. We are sharing these beliefs and wants-to-do-better with you, partly because we think it is important that you know what sort of a business you are dealing with. But also, because we want to hold ourselves accountable to you.
We are human beings, and as such, we have dreams and hopes the same as anyone. We’re also not perfect, but we are doing our best, to do our best. We’re always learning and we welcome your input on how we can be better, not just as a business, but as human beings, and to make positive changes. The one thing that runs through all of our values, is our want to do good. We genuinely believe that we have the power, as individuals and collectively, to be a positive change in so many ways. In the style of Nellie from South Pacific, we like to think of ourselves as a group of ‘cockeyed optimists’. But whilst it is important to believe that things can be good, we understand that actions speak louder than words. Believing something is only powerful when it is coupled with action. We’ve therefore set out what we believe, why we believe it and how we are taking action to have a positive impact. We would like to invite you to get involved and join us in our quest to do good.
Why is this important?
- You support local businesses, so your money goes to real people who spend it on real things, like rent, ballet lessons and food
- You get amazing customer care, beautifully crafted, brilliant quality products and the ability to personalise your items so they’re as unique as you are
- You are investing in, and valuing, creativity, talent and skill
How are we taking action?
- Our marketplace offers small businesses the space to sell their creations, and customers the space to shop small safely and easily, from their own home
- We have created and run a wonderful community that allows small businesses to grow. It’s one of the nicest and friendliest corners of the internet (something we are very proud of)
- We shout from the top of our lungs about the ‘shop small’ message, through our website, social media, press coverage and everything else we do
Why is this important?
- We believe that education is key to everything we do, it allows us to grow as individuals and as a community
- Education opens doors and provides opportunities for people, both personally and professionally
How are we taking action?
- We provide all of the small businesses that we work with access to resources and experts in business to allow them to learn and grow
- We work hard to educate our followers, our partners and ourselves in everything that we do, in a variety of areas, from business topics, to wider themes such as sustainability, wellbeing and inclusivity
- This Summer, we will be launching our blog with the aim to increase our educational output (we’re so giddy for this, it’s not quite ready yet but it’s going to be ruddy well amazing when it launches!)
- We are in the process of working with a number of charities in order to help education and inspire young people to allow them to set up and run their own small business
Why is this important?
- Because it just is! We only have one planet and we believe that we should look after it to protect ourselves and future generations
- In the immortal words of Dr Seuss – ‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.’
How are we taking action?
- We encourage all of our partners to use sustainable and ethical production methods, materials and packaging
- We try to lead by example by only using sustainable materials in our ‘Welcome Packs’ and ‘Shop Small’ merchandise
- We shout about it on social media
- We are looking into partnerships with charities that work to make our planet better
Why is this important?
- Again, it just is! It’s nice to be nice, and we believe that it’s important to be kind in everything we do
How are we taking action?
- We try our hardest to be mindful of people’s circumstances and background, in all of our communication
- We aim to be sensitive and understanding, and when we sometimes get things wrong (as we sometimes do, because we’re human), we try to be honest, open and learn from our mistakes
- We encourage our partners, followers and anyone else who might hear us to be kind too
- We’re working with lots of people who specialise in kindness through their charity and educational work
Why is this important?
- Because nobody should be penalised because of their background, ethnicity, gender, age, mental health, disability, sexuality or anything else. We should all have access to the same opportunities, experiences and benefits. We are all human
- It’s not enough to simply think that you are inclusive or that you don’t discriminate, we must talk about it, educate, learn, change and grow
- Driving change, and promoting equity, doesn’t discriminate against the majority, but it does open doors for those who perhaps wouldn’t have had those opportunities previously, which is a good thing
- Because we believe that diversity is a wonderful thing and not only will it help us to grow as a business, it allows us to grow and benefit individually too
How are we taking action?
- It should go without saying, but we don’t discriminate against anyone because of their background, ethnicity, sexuality, gender or disability
- We work hard to ensure that our marketplace is open and accessible to all, responding to feedback and making changes where necessary
- As a business, we offer our team and Partners regular inclusivity training and provide resources, links to podcasts and books, so that they can improve their understanding of diversity, inclusivity and equity
- We are listening. We want your opinions on how we can be better so that we can make changes. We do listen and take action (we’re not so self-important that we think we have it all right or have all the answers). We know we’re not perfect and strive to keep getting better
- We are working hard to reach people from a wide range of backgrounds and to inspire them to create their own business. As someone who was fortunate enough to always be told as a child, that I could be anything I wanted to be and achieve anything that I wanted to do, I want to bring this message to children who don’t hear or believe this. We work with a number of charities to help spread this message
- We have taken the Design for Diversity pledge, find out more about this by clicking the link below!
Why is this important?
- Because, to coin a well known saying, two heads are better than one, three heads are better than two. We can learn from each others experiences, skills and views
- We’re social beings, as humans we benefit from being part of a group, emotionally, socially and in so many other ways
- We can share in each others success and help each other to grow
- It’s just nice to know that someone has your back
How are we taking action?
- Our lovely online community is one of the nicest, friendliest and most supportive places we know (we’re not bragging or being big headed, it really is just the loveliest of places)
- We encourage our partners to share with each other, support each other and to help each other to grow. Our social media is a place for fellow ‘Shop Small’ lovers, to come together and share
- We use features such as IGTV to help promote our community and allow people to get to know the amazing small business owners that we work with, through series such as ‘Small Business Big Voice’ and ‘Meet The Maker’
Why is this important?
- Because if you’re not doing things from a good place then, in the words of my 6 year old, ‘you’re just a bad person’ (and we don’t want to be bad people!)
How are we taking action?
- We try to speak openly and honestly, and admit when we get it wrong
- From the emails we send, to the people we work with, the social media content we post, and the things that we do, we always try to do good and be good. Whatever decision we make, even the really small decisions (we know what a big impact a small decision can have) like what packaging to use, or what our auto-respond email says, we always consider the impact it will have, and endeavour to ensure that that impact is positive
Why is this important?
- Because there is a lot of negativity out there, and however small we are, we really believe that we can have a big and positive impact on the world
- We really believe that positivity grows more positivity, and by taking positive actions, we will hopefully inspire others to do the same (#payitforward)
- It would be a pretty sorry existence to live in this world and not make a difference for the better. We’ve been blessed with the ability to bring about change and make people smile, so let’s do that!
How are we taking action?
- As a team, we are super positive happy people (hopefully not in an annoying way, but in a ‘we want to spread happiness’ way). This hopefully comes across in everything that we do, from our social media posts to our branding, from our interactions with people to how we work within the business. Our aim is to enourage, promote and create happiness at every opportunity
- We’re bringing amazing small businesses to people who need amazing small busineses in their lives (this makes us happy, our Partners happy, and our customers happy! Some might say it’s a ‘win, win, win’ situation). We’re spreading joy through ruddy well gorgeous products!
- We work with people in the know. We are not experts in everything we’d like to be, but we do know a lot of amazingly clever and inspirational people who are making a real difference. We invest in and promote these wonderful people, and the charities and organisations that they work for
- We shout about what we believe in. As we’ve already said, we know we don’t always get it right, but we do think that it is important to be vocal about what we believe, and to try to create change for the better. This involves putting ourselves out there, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, to learn and to grow
Organisations that we work with
