Retaining the Creative Business Spirit

“The pandemic hit the entire economy hard, and perhaps no sector was impacted more than event venues, who found themselves facing a wave of cancellations with no timetable for a return to normal. While many businesses reopened their doors in accordance with the ‘purple badge’ guidelines, for a long time, event venues were left without any clear pathway back to normality. The creativity and blue-sky thinking of venue owners enabled some of them to identify alternative income streams, including catering and delivery services for small events and selling food for the Sabbath and for holidays.

“Combining the solutions offered by the State, such as grants, statebacked funds and furlough pay for workers, with banking solutions such as adjusting the credit structure to the new circumstances, and deferring and restructuring loan repayments while taking into account the cash flow to ensure it meets the clients’ needs, enabled many event venues to overcome this challenging period. As we return to almost complete normality, it is vital for venue owners to continue to reinforce and retain that creative business spirit—and those unique and hybrid solutions—for future periods of uncertainty and changes in workflow.” The writer is the manager of the business banking department at the Dimona branch of Bank Hapoalim