A local Big Issue vendor who sells the magazine in Bristol, Jack Richardson, is one of ten vendors across the UK trialling a new digital initiative from the Big Issue Group. 

The Big Issue Group (BIG) recently unveiled a shopfront mural in Shoreditch, London entitled – 'The Street is my Store' – in an effort to highlight that, despite not having a traditional bricks and mortar outlet from which to sell, vendors are running mini businesses, buying and selling copies of the magazine to earn a living in order to change their lives. 

The mural, created by Global Street Art's also aims to raise awareness of a new and innovative digital initiative that will help create new ways for customers to interact with vendors and help bolster Big Issue vendors' income.  

Jack Richardson, who is one of ten vendors offering the new digital initiative to his customers, and who sells the Big Issue outside Bird & Blend Tea, Park Street, Bristol, spoke about when he started selling the Big Issue: "Well, I had sold the magazine years ago, back in my twenties. I started selling again a few years ago because it was simply me falling back on something I knew I could do. But before, back when I was in my early sort of twenties, I'd had a landlord who very dodgily kept the whole deposit when I left my place."  

He continued: "And of course, I was living hand to mouth with no rent advance and deposit. I was absolutely knocked for a hoop. I spent a good year or so staying on traveller sites and hitching around various places and begging and that was until someone suggested I try selling the Big Issue. And it turned out I was much better at selling the Big Issue than I was at begging." 

On current public perceptions of the Big Issue, Jack explained: "Yeah, I've found some people think you get given them for free and they ask how many you can get a day and that. But that's definitely got better than it used to be, there's a lot more awareness. I very much see it as a business in fact. I'm an ethical microbusiness – and I believe in the product which is a real advantage."  

Jack spoke about what selling the magazine means to him: "One of the reasons I like the Big Issue so much is because the help is non infantilising. A lot of the help that you're given when you're in a powerless situation is by its very nature infantilising. The Big Issue isn't like that, you are given support but in an empowering way!" 

He added: "I like being given the flexibility and ownership that selling the Big Issue gives me. I have various mental health problems which means it really helps to be in control of the work I do. With the Big Issue I can decide what hours I need to work. If I'm having a really bad week and my mental health is suffering, I can take 2, 3 or 4 days off if I need to." 

Speaking about his customers and his pitch, Jack said: "My little spot on Park Street really has become my niche. People there can be incredibly generous, there was an older lady who I knew from there, who unbeknownst to me was very ill, we used to speak to each other quite a bit before lockdown. Over the lockdowns, I lost track of her, but about two months after the last one had finished, her daughter came and found me to explain she had sadly died during lockdown, but that she looked through her diary, and in between many quite sad entries there were these really happy ones where she explained that she had spoken to me that day."  

He continued: "I had told her my wife was agoraphobic and loved playing computer games and right at the end of her diary she had left an envelope with £200 in specifically so I could by my wife a PlayStation 4. I was blown away, it's amazing to have been a part of someone's life like that. Her daughter has stayed in touch with me since too!"  

On how the new digital initiative will help, Jack explained: "I'm always in favour of trying out new technologies and seeing how they work. I've already had a couple of customers who've put it up on their social media. So we'll see how that goes. But that's the thing about QR codes, they are so easy to share and I have a lot of young customers here who very much engage in these new technologies." 

Concluding: "But yeah, this last 8 or 9 years, I've been the most settled and definitely the happiest of my entire adult life. And that is in no small part down to the stability that the Big Issue gives me. I mean I even met my wife through the Big Issue." 

The initiative has been created to empower vendors with personalised QR codes on lanyards and webpages allowing customers to share their local vendor's subscription, pitch location and story with friends and family to help boost vendor earnings. This initiative will eventually be rolled out to all vendors.  

Vendors buy magazines for £2 and sell them on for £4. Customers can also subscribe with a vendor online, which provides a vital additional source of regular income.  

With the support of BIG, these micro-business owners learn vital skills that help them grow and develop, meeting their personal, social and financial goals. However, these businesses wouldn't be viable without public support.  

Lord Bird, Founder of the Big Issue Group, said: "We are pleased to mark the launch of yet another way by which customers can further connect with their local vendor. Which is why we are urging you to help boost your local vendor's income by scanning their personalised QR code to share the vendor's story and subscribe." 

Big Issue Group collaborated with a creative team and Global Street Art to bring the realistic 3D storefront to life. The artwork is located at Village Underground, London measuring 7.4 metres high by 16 metres wide and will be on display until the 24 July. 

To boost vendor earnings, buy a copy of the magazine or subscribe online by visiting www.bigissue.com/boost-vendor-earnings