Business as unusual
The light at the end of the tunnel has come into view for Manawatu¯ businesses now lockdown restrictions have eased, Paul Mitchell reports.
Many small businesses in Manawatu¯ survived five weeks of little to no income and their owners were relieved to cautiously reopen on Tuesday. Others will stay closed for at least another week.
With a slight whiff of optimism in the air clouded by the hard realities of doing business in a restrictedworld, Stuff asked five small-business owners about lockdown lessons that could help their peers on the road to recovery.
Brew Union and Libre Mexican restaurant owner Murray Cleghorn
‘‘Cashflow is key. Do whatever you can to get your numbers right and work every little bit as best you can.’’
Cleghorn said even as restrictions lifted, and businesses reopened, everyone needed to stay on top of the accounting ledger because recovering from lockdown was going to take a long time.
Most suppliers and landlords were willing to share the burden, so talking with them and having a keen eye for opportunitywould give business owners a fighting chance, he said.
Although neither his Broadway Ave bar nor George St restaurant could physically reopen yet, the Brew Union microbrewerywas technically an essential food supplier. This let the company do twice-weekly deliveries of its house beers and home cocktail kits to bring money in during lockdown.
Cleghorn said it wasn’t a longterm solution, but it helped keep the business afloat, as did takeaways from this week from both Brew Union and Libre.
Rec Room Gym owner Brandon Rennie
‘‘It’s important to look after people, because you never knowwhen you’ll need them to look after you.’’
Rennie said companies that showed loyalty and respect got it back and he’d always aimed to create a supportive culture at his Feilding gym. He credited that for the high uptake in paid online fitness sessions that were keeping the Rec Room lights on. It also explained members still paying fees, even after Rennie told them they didn’t need to while the gym was closed. The Rec Room was offering a free programme and it let members take its equipment home, for free, until it reopened.
Rennie said gyms would be among the last businesses cleared to reopen, ‘‘sowe’re just trying to adapt to the situationwe’re in’’.
Blacksheepdesign managing director and owner Mark Inman
When uncertainty about the coronavirus began, many companies put advertising and design on the backburner, so new jobs for Blacksheepdesign virtually dried up early on in the lockdown.
‘‘We’ve enoughwork and longterm projects to keep afloat ... but it’s going to be a rocky road.’’
But Iman and his Palmerston
North team didn’t sit back and wait.
The firm contacted existing clients and potential new ones to ask what they’d need as their businesses opened back up
Blacksheepdesign has been putting togethermedia communication and advertising packages to help companies recover, based on those consultations.
Inman said similar kinds of opportunitieswere out there in every industry as business owners needed to keep communicating clearly and openly with clients, staff and anyone else involved in their business.
Event-tech owner Chris Morton
Morton said being flexible was key and as challenging as coronavirus restrictionswere, they could also open up new avenues.
His company provides audiovisual and technical support for events, so a lot of doors closedwhen mass gatherings were banned. But one openedwith an academic conference in Canterbury that wasn’t cancelled. Instead it was held over Zoom and livestreamed on Youtube. Morton added names and graphics to the livestreams to make it more like a traditionally televised event. ‘‘It’s actually something I’ve been looking to expand into for awhile, but most clients haven’t been keen.’’
Most conference organisers valued the opportunities for face-toface networking too much to go virtual. But in the middle of a global pandemic, many were reconsidering their options, with the help of companies such as Event-tech.
Mouthwater Coffee Company owner Andrew Feldon
Feldon was relieved to get his two Palmerston North coffee carts running again this week, even with the tight health restrictions. It’s been a struggle and Feldon’s learned to rely on the advice and support from fellow small-business owners.
‘‘Friends and family are great, but don’t always understand the pressures you’re under running a business and looking after your staff in a time like this.’’
Feldon said talking to other business owners helped him filter conflicting information about restrictions and was good for his mental health, too.
Many business ownerswere sharing encouraging news stories or tales of businesses adapting and thriving during this crisis, Feldon said.