When the Covid Pandemic hit the whole World and ordinary, everyday hardworking people had to stay at home and isolate, many small businesses unfortunately had to be closed down. The ones that did manage to survive had to adapt and change to make sure they remained competitive and relevant in the “New Normal” that everyone was then living in. One of the most important factors to take into consideration in order for a small company to survive during Covid was “do you really KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER”? Online conferences and meetings were conducted online, ordering products and services was completed remotely and many essential workers had to be put on temporary leave to keep prices down and businesses ticking over.
Bedrooms and garages became the new home offices and conducting important business meetings from home was the normal thing to do. Juggling childcare and work was a daily challenge for many small business owners as children were not allowed into school for many weeks.
The Government did try to help and support small businesses during this very difficult time by providing financial benefits, funding, grants and paying towards any workers the company had to temporarily send home because of lack of orders. For hospitality and leisure businesses that were hit particularly hard the Government paid out millions of pounds in direct grants to help the companies survive until the World returned to a “New Normal”. Even in July of last year, 2022, they announced extensions to some support schemes.
