Ideas for businesses and how to support local




How to help businesses now?

Consider buying a gift certificate from your favourite restaurant or accommodation provider that you can use after the pandemic passes. 

Assists a business NOW and encourages sustainability long term.

Shop local, learn who your local producers are, follow your local food and wine group on social media, they won’t run out like the supermarkets short term but need your support, go back to basics, embrace seasonality.

Not for profit groups?

Planning a meeting why not host a virtual meeting, skype, zoon etc can help you do this.. What’s App (uses your internet) you can do Facetime (as does messenger) we have a huge variety of tech at our disposal.
Use it.

Social isolation will save lives, but we still need that interaction and good grief our communities still need to grow and develop.

How businesses can be proactive?

Deliveries – at home and to front doors? Is this something you can offer?
Take advanced bookings for summer and next year offer an incentive for clients not to cancel just postpone.
Reduce a table or a few chairs to increase that 1-metre range for diners.
Develop COVID 19 polices – get your team to work with you on this.....seek outside medial advice if you can.
Clients usually come to you? What about going to them? diversify - get creative.
Encourage your staff to buy local...
Don't give up...our local economies depend on vibrancy.. and income..

So, you are in lockdown for two weeks…

Boredom may set in…but there is so much to do.
For a businessperson this is a great time to PLAN – business, marketing and explore diversification.
Build COVID 19 policies develop ways to instill confidence in your customers and remember once its done - COMMUNICATE what you are doing to keep everyone safe.
Reach out to clients, see if they are ok.
Take up an online course and work from home.

Invest in your staff…..upskill staff – encourage them:
to work from home,
take on a course …those gaps that you identified can be worked upon at home in their own time.
Stay in touch see how they are going.
Staff are your BIGGEST ASSET.

If you have a premise…shut the doors for a few weeks and do that urgent maintenance! Paint freshen up displays and wash walls. 
Anything to make a difference and feel in control of your patch.
Give early holidays and encourage staff to swap their holidays for now instead of the busy times ahead.

Overall..
Don’t sit still…. business doesn’t stop just because this MASSIVE challenge has come our way.

And finally… be optimistic, we all need to work together and support local businesses and our community.

Need help planning? need help marketing? - reach out sam@samhicks.com.au