I write this blog to encourage business owners to rely less on the internet and get out there in their community and market themselves in person.  Hear me out...

Spend five minutes scrolling through the comments on almost any small business advert on social media and you'll probably see them.

"That's far too expensive."

"I could make that myself."

"I can get one cheaper elsewhere."

"You're having a laugh charging that."

Most of us have seen these comments, and if you run a business, there's a good chance you've received one yourself. Sometimes they're written by people who simply aren't your target customer, but increasingly they seem to come from people who feel almost offended that a business has dared to charge what it believes its product or service is worth.

What I find fascinating is that we've somehow reached a point where charging fairly for your time, skills and experience is treated as something you should justify or apologise for. Running a business has become a balancing act between trying to earn a living and trying not to upset people with your prices.

The strange thing is that customers only ever see the finished product. They don't see the months or years spent learning a skill. They don't see the evenings spent researching, practising and improving, or the money invested in training, equipment, insurance, software, rent, packaging, websites, marketing and tax. They don't see the failed attempts that came before the successful one.

They simply see a price tag.

It's easy to look at a handmade soap and think, "It's only oils and fragrance." It's easy to look at a custom Cosmetic Safety Report and think, "It's only a PDF." It's easy to look at a candle and think, "It's only wax."

But what you're really paying for isn't the raw materials. You're paying for everything that made that product or service possible.

One of the comments that always makes me smile is, "I could make that myself."

Of course you could.

You could probably cut your own hair, service your own car, build your own furniture or bake your own wedding cake if you invested enough time into learning how. The question isn't whether something is possible. The question is whether you value your own time enough to pay somebody else who has already developed that expertise.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with deciding to make something yourself or choosing not to buy a product because it isn't worth the price to you. That's how buying decisions work.

What's difficult to understand is why some people feel the need to announce it publicly on someone else's advert, as though that somehow reduces the value of what they've created.

The same applies to comments about price. Every product and service has a different perceived value depending on who's looking at it. A £300 handbag is expensive to one person and a bargain to another. A £5 coffee seems outrageous to someone who drinks instant at home, while someone else happily buys one every morning.

Neither person is wrong.

A product doesn't have to be affordable for everyone to be fairly priced.

If something is outside your budget or you simply don't see the value in it, that's perfectly okay. It probably wasn't created with you in mind. Every business has its audience, and every customer decides where they feel comfortable spending their money.

Another trend I've noticed is how often businesses are criticised because people haven't taken the time to read the information that's already been provided. Product descriptions, FAQs and policies are carefully written, yet many questions—and even complaints—come from people who have skimmed the first few lines or looked only at the photos before jumping to conclusions.

We've all done it. We're scrolling quickly, our attention spans are shorter than ever and there's more information competing for our attention than at any other point in history. But when assumptions become public criticism, it's frustrating for business owners who have already answered the question in the listing.

I don't actually think customers have become less reasonable.

I think they've become less trusting.

The internet today looks very different to the one we knew ten or fifteen years ago. Consumers are constantly hearing stories about fake reviews, counterfeit products, scam websites and online stores that aren't always what they appear to be. Add to that the rise of AI-generated content (yes I used it for my blog image for speed and convenience!) and anonymous businesses with little indication that there's a real person behind them, and it's easy to understand why people have become more cautious before spending their money. That caution is understandable and, in many ways, sensible.

Unfortunately, genuine small businesses often find themselves caught in the middle. Instead of asking questions or taking the time to understand what's being offered, some people assume the worst. Prices are questioned before quality is considered, expertise is dismissed before it's understood, and trust has to be earned all over again with every new customer. Ironically, I think the solution lies away from the internet.

Some of the strongest businesses I know aren't built through viral videos or perfectly optimised adverts. They're built by turning up at local markets, talking to people face-to-face, becoming part of the local community and delivering such a good experience that customers recommend them to friends and family.

Word of mouth has always been one of the most powerful forms of marketing, and perhaps it's becoming one of the most important forms of trust too. People buy from people, and it's much harder to dismiss someone as "just another business" when you've met the person behind it.

Customers absolutely deserve honest advertising, good service and products that deliver what they promise. Businesses should work hard to earn that trust. But respect should work both ways.

Behind every small business is a person who's taken a financial risk to build something of their own. Many are working evenings after the children have gone to bed. Others have left secure careers, invested their savings or spent years learning specialist skills before they ever made their first sale.

When we dismiss someone's work with comments like "I could make that" or accuse them of charging too much without understanding what's involved, we're not really criticising a price. We're undervaluing the years of effort, knowledge and experience that made that product or service possible.

If something isn't worth the asking price to you, that's absolutely fine. No business is intended to serve every customer.

The best response is simply to move on.

Someone else will see the value, and that's exactly how business has always worked.

Think about this when pricing your products:  Who is your target market? What kind of disposable income do they have? and does your price fully represent the value add of your expertise?  if you get all these right, you'll have a great business and the nay-sayers won't matter.

Now, get out there and meet your customers!  It's the fastest and most sustainable way to grow right now!