January 08, 2026
When small businesses face challenges
Some days, running a small business can be challenging. Today has been one such day.
Today, Mark was due to set off early to do some deliveries in Leeds. He'd normally arrive around 9.30am. But last night, after he'd carefully loaded all the coffee to take, the van started playing up, and this morning, having discovered that the alternator was on its last legs, he knew he couldn't risk driving all that way in it.
So, while Mark should have been in Leeds by 9.30am, he actually spent much of the morning at the roadside in Cockermouth, moving all the contents of one van into another (thank you Glen Rental for sorting us out with a hire vehicle so quickly!).
It's an extra challenging week as the battery on Mark and Jean's new (to them) family car died a couple of days ago, just two weeks after they got it, so 2026 is definitely keeping them on their toes.
But today's experience really highlights how little problems can become much bigger issues when you're running a small business, and we thought that was worth highlighting.
For big delivery companies with multiple vehicles and drivers, if one vehicle is off the road, they can either find a spare among their fleet or rejig delivery routes and schedules to ensure that everything is taken care of. When your small business has one vehicle, it's not that simple. Even a small problem with the van can lose you hours of time, not to mention the money that goes into hiring a replacement.
It's just one of the reasons why small businesses' overheads are proportionately higher than their major player counterparts', and how the very high levels of service we strive for can be scuppered by even small challenges.
We're hugely grateful today to the wholesale customers in Leeds who are patiently waiting for their deliveries, and for every customer who understands the extra pressures faced by small businesses. The delays caused then things go wrong.
The support and understanding of customers is the lifeblood of any small business. The continued orders, the understanding if things don't quite go to plan, the conversations with friends and family that help spread the word about the independent brands you love.
Shiloh Coffee Roasters wouldn't be here without that and we thank every one of our customers and supporters for rooting for us.
If you've followed us for a while, you'll know we like to give something back where we can. So, as a thank you for your support and to spread a bit of joy in this cold, dark (broken-down-vehicles-ridden) month of January, we're offering you FREE COFFEE.
That's right, we said FREE COFFEE. If you make a one-time purchase of 2kg or more of coffee before the end of January, we'll also send you 250g of funky red honey process from Colombia, while stocks last. Don't worry if you're a decaf drinker; if you're order of 2kg or more if just decaf, we'll send 250g of free decaf.
We've also got some time-limited offers on as we do some moving around in the roastery ready for some exciting changes that are coming this year, so now is a great time to treat yourself to some great coffee, making big savings and know you're helping a small, family-run business stay on the road.
Not got any money to spend on coffee right now? We understand. It's a challenging time for a lot of people. If you're an existing customer who's recently had coffee from us, why not show your support by leaving a review? We're especially keen to receive your reviews of our Christmas gift products, as this not only helps future customers make their choices but helps us when we're working out what to stock next Christmas (which we need to plan for scarily soon!).
And if you can't do that, you could always help to let people know about Shiloh by sharing our social media posts or telling family and friends. A quick share costs nothing but it might just put us on the radar of our next regular customer, and that's priceless.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Shiloh since we launched almost a decade ago. As we prepare for our 10th birthday celebrations, we look forward to keeping you supplied with great coffee for many more years to come.
For now, we're hoping we can get the van fixed before Monday, when Mark's got more deliveries to make to Leeds.
We're hugely grateful today to the wholesale customers in Leeds who are patiently waiting for their deliveries, and for every customer who understands the extra pressures faced by small businesses. The delays caused then things go wrong.
The support and understanding of customers is the lifeblood of any small business. The continued orders, the understanding if things don't quite go to plan, the conversations with friends and family that help spread the word about the independent brands you love.
Shiloh Coffee Roasters wouldn't be here without that and we thank every one of our customers and supporters for rooting for us.
If you've followed us for a while, you'll know we like to give something back where we can. So, as a thank you for your support and to spread a bit of joy in this cold, dark (broken-down-vehicles-ridden) month of January, we're offering you FREE COFFEE.
That's right, we said FREE COFFEE. If you make a one-time purchase of 2kg or more of coffee before the end of January, we'll also send you 250g of funky red honey process from Colombia, while stocks last. Don't worry if you're a decaf drinker; if you're order of 2kg or more if just decaf, we'll send 250g of free decaf.
We've also got some time-limited offers on as we do some moving around in the roastery ready for some exciting changes that are coming this year, so now is a great time to treat yourself to some great coffee, making big savings and know you're helping a small, family-run business stay on the road.
Not got any money to spend on coffee right now? We understand. It's a challenging time for a lot of people. If you're an existing customer who's recently had coffee from us, why not show your support by leaving a review? We're especially keen to receive your reviews of our Christmas gift products, as this not only helps future customers make their choices but helps us when we're working out what to stock next Christmas (which we need to plan for scarily soon!).
And if you can't do that, you could always help to let people know about Shiloh by sharing our social media posts or telling family and friends. A quick share costs nothing but it might just put us on the radar of our next regular customer, and that's priceless.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Shiloh since we launched almost a decade ago. As we prepare for our 10th birthday celebrations, we look forward to keeping you supplied with great coffee for many more years to come.
For now, we're hoping we can get the van fixed before Monday, when Mark's got more deliveries to make to Leeds.
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