'people = business = people' is a working title for an ongoing project looking into the challenges faced by small independent businesses in the UK, particularly hospitality and retail. Since 2022 I have been conducting a photographic study of the empty and closed shop fronts, mainly on the High Street of Fort William in Scotland. However, the demanding situation faced by independent businesses is not limited to the area of the Highlands or Scotland. Due to the recent years’ events, such as Covid-19 pandemic, staff shortages, energy crisis and cost of living crisis, small businesses everywhere in the UK are facing enormous challenges.

These issues are magnified in the Scottish Highlands where staffing and high costs have been topics of concern over a long period of time and investment by the government, compared to the size of the area, is low. In the town of Fort William the repercussions are visible on the High Street where various commercial units are lying empty and businesses are having to close part of the time due to lack of staff.

According to the UK Government’s latest research, 99.9% of private sector businesses in the UK were Small and Medium-size enterprises (SME’s), however their turnover only accounted only for 51% of the UK total and only 49% were registered for VAT or PAYE (GOV.UK 2022). Considering that 0.01% of businesses account for about half of the total revenue made by companies, big business is obviously a priority to the decision makers.

The noun 'business', a stakeholder or a decision maker, can be mistaken as a large faceless profiteering corporation but according to GOV.UK 74% of the private sector did not employ anyone other than the owner(s) and over majority of the companies that did, only had 1-9 employees.

Implications to business means implications to people, whether they are owners or employees.