My Back To Business Strategy

By Alan Read, who runs Bounce R Us, an entertainments and leisure company based in Wiltshire. Alan and his team are able to scale and serve home parties right through to large corporate events. They can easily supply a single bouncy castle for a child's birthday party or celebration, or put on an entire staffed corporate event with huge footfall. They provide event class inflatables, garden games and electronic games equipment.

Summarise how Covid-19 has affected your organisation?

It was like a bolt out the blue.  There was this virus that I did not know anything about and it was stopping my business in its tracks.  There wasn't any clear guidance on how hirers should proceed.  Corporate clients were cancelling, parents were calling to cancel their parties, things were crazy. The more I heard about the virus the more I realised that my business was hitting a brick wall so I made the decision to cancel all bookings up to the end of April, to ensure I was not putting any lives at risk.

What has been your plan to continue?  

For me to continue trading I have had to study all of the guidance around Covid 19, speak & listen to other hirers who have studied the virus from all angles. I have had to look at ways of safe guarding myself  and my staff  along with my clients and customers. I've also made changes to my T & Cs to cover all aspects of the Corona Virus. 

How have things changed over the last few months?  

My business was a flourishing company that had a very large customer base and a lot of repeat business across the corporate spectrum and with family parties. Once Covid 19 took over my business it came to a very sudden halt. 

My earnings stopped with immediate effect and this left me with no work to do.  March, April & May are the start of a very busy season and it was like being in a ghost town, the phone stopped ringing, I did not receive any emails, it was like my business was closed down overnight, without my knowledge.

As lockdown eases what measures have you put in place to get back to business?

My staff and I will follow strict Covid 19 guidelines, PPE equipment is in place for my drivers and we will wear protective foot covers, face masks, protective coveralls and gloves as and when needed. These will be put on just before going into the garden to set up equipment.  

Contactless deliveries will be made at all times, on leaving the garden all the protective coverings will be removed and placed in a bag that can be sealed and hands will be washed in line with government guidelines. 

I have purchased specialist disinfectant tables, used by the NHS and will now be used to clean my equipment.  The equipment that is now for hire is for single household only, therefore some equipment like the “Last Man Standing” or “Rodeo Bull” etc. will be for hire at this current time.

What has been the most challenging aspect of all of this? 

In the first instance it was making my customers understand the seriousness of this virus and my reasoning for cancelling events & parties. I then had to worry about how I was going to be able to keep my business afloat and finally how I was going to keep myself busy.

What has been the most positive aspect? 

I have been praised for my professionalism during this difficult time by parents and corporate clients. It has been nice to catch up with businesses like mine and try to support each other through the pandemic.

Has it made you consider how you feel about other businesses/suppliers/customers/clients for good or otherwise? 

Covid 19 has given me a different outlook on things, I feel for other businesses especially the ones that are in the same trade as myself because I know from experience that things will be difficult moving forward. 

Of course there are businesses that are in a worse situation than myself, where there is no light at the end of the tunnel and they have been put in this terrible situation through no fault of their own. 

How important is this phrase to you – ‘buy local, supply local’? 

This statement was always important to me and if at all possible I would buy local, but now that we are trying the re-build the economy this is more important than ever.  Local businesses will be looking for this to happen and I for one will always support locally. 

What are your top tips at this time?  

1. Lean on people and take the opportunities that are offered to you by the government, if you are eligible.

2. Always keep your records, terms and conditions up to date along with government Covid 19 guidelines attached.  

3. Keep yourself busy and make sure that you are constantly listening for further updates, which will enable you to re-start your business. 

Your parting thought? 

Never did I ever think that I would be in the middle of a pandemic and my business would be at risk along with 1000s of others.  

The worry is waiting for the next update from the Prime Minister, hoping businesses can soon become fully operational & business owners can begin to rebuild their lives.

For more information visit https://www.bounce-r-us.co.uk/