During the 2021 Holyrood elections, we interviewed all the party leaders on the burning questions our members were raising.

Once we’d covered all heavy topics like tax and regulation, we asked each of them, once they were done with politics, what sort of small business they’d most like to run.

Answers ranged from making scones, to teaching circus skills, to becoming a greengrocer. Nicola Sturgeon outlined her plans – which, despite her protestations to the contrary, did sound pretty definite – to open a bookshop.

After eight years navigating some of the toughest times we’ve known in recent history, I can see how the prospect of scouring the second-hand book fairs to build up her stock and touring the country to find the perfect premises might appeal. (On the other hand, it might take some of the shine off it when she starts getting quotes from electricity suppliers, or opens the first business rates bill, or reads the standard terms in the shop lease.)

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So, as the First Minister prepares to depart and commence the life literary in earnest, what should be top of her successor’s reading list?

Well, it’s fair to say that there’s an awful lot coming down the road at small business owners at the moment. It’s also fair to say that not all of it seems to have been especially well thought through.

Recent months have been marked by drama over the deposit return scheme, arguments over alcohol promotion and a rammy over regulation of short-term lets – to name but a few.

And time is pressing. Indeed, if you’re in any doubt that the new First Minister will need to act before it’s too late, let’s consider how, by the end of next year, some of the new rules could be impacting on your daily business.

If you operate in a city centre, you may well have to replace your vehicles to comply with low emission zone rules. Even if you don’t drive, it’s not impossible that you’ll see prices rise in your supply chain as operators who support your business have to pay for new cars and vans.

If you sell drinks of any kind, you’ll have to wrap your head around the deposit return scheme and the logistical question marks that continue to surround it. Whether that means redrawing your shop floor or storeroom to create space for the containers you’re obliged to take back or coming up with a new system to keep track of all of the incoming and outgoing 20p deposits, it will take some organising.

Then there’s short-term let registration, the tourist tax, workplace parking levies, proposed limitations on alcohol advertising – and those are just the ones we know about.

It’s not, of course, that the intentions that inspired these new regulations aren’t laudable – the climate crisis will surely have impacts far more devastating than even the most comically bureaucratic scheme if left unchecked. And who would deny Scotland has to address its difficult relationship with alcohol?

The point is that, however noble the aim, the execution has been found wanting. The common thread running through all these schemes is that they don’t take sufficient account of the bigger picture or their real-world application.

And that’s where our attention needs to be right now.

So, as a first step, in the current interregnum, everything needs paused. Then, when the new First Minister takes their seat, they can take stock of what’s already in train and see what needs done.

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This might take some time. But if a little delay is the price we need to pay for schemes which enjoy the backing of those who are subject to them – and on whom government is relying for their operation – that’s surely a decent deal.

The new First Minister’s default approach should be to ask, “What about small businesses?” whenever they’re looking at any new proposals. They need to avoid taking all businesses as a job lot, ignoring the gulf in resources between huge multinationals and local small firms.

By thinking small first, the government can ensure that the practical, real-world issues smaller traders often run into with new schemes – and which can then threaten the whole project – can be averted.

Colin Borland is director of devolved nations for the Federation of Small Businesses