I took a business tip from Darwin: adapt to survive
How Britain’s entrepreneurs are thinking on their feet to keep things moving in lockdown
THE WORLD is looking very different from how it did a few months ago, before coronavirus struck and sent economies into meltdown. As a result, the country’s army of small businesses is having to take a leaf out of Darwin’s book – and adapt to survive. The Mail on Sunday has spoken to the entrepreneurial bosses of companies making dramatic changes in a determined effort to thrive once lockdown comes to an end.
Gwen Burgess describes the last couple of months as ‘a bit of a whirlwind’ – which could be putting it mildly. She is the deputy mayor of Shrewsbury, and tomorrow she was to have been officially named as mayor with a ceremonial parade next month complete with sword-bearers and the traditional toast to the Queen.
But, by necessity, all that has been postponed for later in the year. Instead, Gwen will spend tomorrow like every other day since lockdown began, making up to 20 full English breakfasts for takeaway in the morning – and preparing Mexican food (fajitas, burritos and tacos) for delivery in the evening.
Gwen, 57, owns cafe in the centre of town – named after Shrewsbury’s most famous son, Charles Darwin. Before Covid-19 struck, her business had just recovered from the devastating floods at the beginning of the year.
‘After the floods, coronavirus was a real kick in the teeth,’ says Gwen. Her dream of semi-retiring by selling the cafe and concentrating on her mayoral duties has now fallen through.
‘All of a sudden my plans had gone and I was left with, “What happens now?” ’ she says. ‘I had to reinvent myself.’
As well as reopening to serve takeaway coffee, Gwen started making breakfasts for delivery. She also transformed Darwin’s into a takeaway Mexican restaurant – Pequena Burro – in the evening.
‘It’s gone well so far,’ says Gwen, who has still seen her turnover fall by 50 per cent. ‘I could have shut up shop and got by on the £ 10,000 small business grant I received, but as Darwin said, you have to adapt to survive.’
Another business adapting to survive is Edinburgh-based Healthy Nibbles which supplies snacks to companies to give to their staff – including stocking vending machines with treats such as olives, chickpea puffs, lentil chips and dark chocolate.
Corporate customers range from technology and pharmaceutical firms to mobile phone network Three and Transport for London. But when lockdown came, income plunged 80 per cent in the first week.
The business’s founder Sara Roberts had to act fast. The result was to make individual snack boxes which employers could send to staff at home, not only to help them snack more healthily but as a way of letting them know they were being thought of.
SARA says: ‘ It’s these little t ouches which really help. Companies can put messages on the snacks and some even send jigsaws with the snacks for employees to do as team- building exercises. For us, it’s great to have a new income stream which will hopefully continue after the lockdown.’
Last year, former architect Robert Ngo quit his job to set up Malaysian street food company, Eat Lah. Initially selling at street markets in London’s Hackney and Deptford, Robert saw business take off when he started getting corporate bookings to supply lunch to office-based staff in the City.
But lockdown meant his business stopped overnight. ‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,’ says Robert. ‘ I didn’t qualify for any grants. Everything ground to a halt.’
Robert decided to sell his homemade sauces and pastes online. He set up a website using Shopify, uploaded pictures and started spreading the word on social media. He t hen began selling online packages of Malaysian food such as marinated fried chicken, his signature blue rice, prawn crackers, pickles and sauces and shipping them via UPS.
‘I include instructions on how to reheat and serve, and it’s great to be able to keep working,’ he says. ‘If there’s no income then I can’t pay my bills, but hopefully this is something which will keep me going through lockdown.’
Other businesses are focusing on preparing for the new way of doing things once lockdown rules are lifted. Eighteen months ago, Andy Lennox founded Southern African-themed restaurant Zim Braai, in Poole, Dorset. But it is now closed. He says: ‘It didn’t seem worth opening in some capacity such as takeaway just to be loss-making.’
Andy – who also runs Wonky Table, a local business network to support small businesses during lockdown – is now spending his time readying his restaurant for life after lockdown.
This means investing in personal protective equipment for staff and designing screens to go between tables to protect diners. He’s also launched ‘Braai bonds’ which he is selling with a 20 per cent dividend, meaning customers who buy a £50 bond will get £ 60 to spend on a meal at Zim Braai.
He says: ‘If we can only open at 50 per cent capacity due to social distancing, we’ll need people to stagger the times when they come to dine with us. The bonds are valid from Monday to Wednesday.
‘The whole restaurant industry has paused and there are many businesses who won’t make it out of the other side. We want to come out stronger.’