Local Businesses To Be Promoted As Music Website's Focus Switches In Hastings

An online website, specialising in live music gigs across Hastings and St Leonards, is set to turn its attentions to the regions small independent businesses as part of a new project.

Hastings' leading live music website has turned its attention to featuring the people who run the town's independent businesses in order to put human faces to local shops, cafes, and pubs and remind customers of the importance of spending their money locally.

The Hastings Flyer, which has been running for the last four years as a comprehensive music listings and review website, is to focus on the people who run the town's independent businesses, and put human faces to local shops, cafes, and pubs.

With the next 'proper' gig now many months away, it's hoped that the project will remind customers of the importance of spending their money locally at the many small businesses that give Hastings and St Leonards 'so much characte'r.

The project has so far uncovered the fact that around 40% of local small businesses have no website, and many have little or no visible online presence at all on search engines or social media platforms.

Photographer Sara-Louise Bowrey caught the public's attention last summer with her series of portraits of musicians caught in lockdown.

This time, along with Hastings Flyer owner John Bownas, she is trying to capture an increasingly rare smile from the business owners as they struggle to survive the extended economic impact of the third national lockdown.

Website owner, John Bownas, said:

"Myself and Sara really felt it was important and worthwhile to let people look into the eyes of the hundreds of people whose passion and determination make Hastings such a vibrant place to shop. 

"The 'flyer' has been a hobby of ours since we moved to Hastings. It's built up a loyal following and has great visibility, so it felt like the best way of putting some spare time into helping independent businesses right across the borough. 

"Initially this was just a photography project, but it has quickly turned into a mission to make sure every business in Hastings has an online presence - and a human face.

"So many business still haven't covered the basics of ensuring they have claimed their 'space' on Google and Facebook - even though it's free and easy to do."

The project hopes to contact and feature around 180 businesses in the Old Town alone, with around the same number in Central St Leonards alone. 

John added:

"Once you add in the Town Centre, Ore, Silverhill and all the other small pockets the number is huge - well over 700. But what's so important to remember right now is that without these businesses getting every little bit of support we may lose a significant percentage of them.

"All the headlines about business closures are on the big high street names right now - but unless the government finds a way of injecting some more significant cash into the small business sector I'm hugely concerned that lots of established traders will have to throw in the towel over the next few months.

"In the meantime, anything we can all do to help them stay solvent is critical - not just to their livelihoods, but to the character and future of the town."

The project is still in its early days, but the Old Town site can be found at: hastingsflyer.com/hastings-old-town-businesses/ - with other areas set to be added shortly.