My Strategy For Surviving Coronavirus

By Richard Forsyth, director of Wiltshire-based Find Marketing Ltd which he runs with his wife Helen.

When did you realise the Coronavirus could be a problem for you and your business? 

The day lockdown was announced we contacted our prospects and existing clients. We lost around 90% of our business in a day. It felt like the new normal was that there are no customers. It was a shock. 

Many companies were doing headcount, slashing costs and all third-party partners. Like a lot of businesses, we were either put on hold until after lockdown or asked to slash costs. New business leads were next to useless. Only days earlier we had a solid growth plan. It was shattered. 

What has been your plan to continue? 

On that day one of everything collapsing, we decided to revert to survival mode, we needed to adapt and made big changes. We gave notice on the office although the council offered us a significantly reduced rate in the end, so we have kept it during lockdown. 

We can no longer recruit staff as we planned. We cut costs to the bone. We drove PR hard – which comprised of honest stories and insights, with a little help from the PR consultant Fiona Scott, and it was beneficial. 

We threw some of our remaining money at new initiatives, including a website for independent food and drink businesses, called Findtasty.co.uk. This was not seen and still not seen as directly profit making but we have learned that by doing positive things, that draw attention, that genuinely benefit people and businesses, eventually it does help your own business as you make good connections. 

The new website is getting local and national attention. We’ve talked to other business people constantly, and that helps. We are in a difficult position but we are fighting. 

It did not help that in all of this, we both contracted the virus, which was extremely debilitating. 

Have you changed your business as the weeks are passing? 

We are very open to reinvention in lockdown. Like everyone we do everything online now, but that was not a massive change for us in all honesty as we were always digital biased in our communication. What is a change is our day to day management. 

We are at home, schooling children most of the time, juggling that and workload so, as a husband and wife business, we turn-take all the time. 

We are building relationships with companies less affected by this crisis, or which are planning new things themselves, so we can be primed to rebuild our own business, when it gets easier and the children return to school.

Have you been able to access any government support or funding? 

Like a lot of small businesses like us, we felt like we fell between the gaps of government support, bar loans which incur debt in a time you don’t want it. Saying that, the loans they do have are at good rates, so we have taken a precautionary bounce back loan to put some support behind future plans in sunnier days. 

What have you seen which is positive in business? 

Smart businesses affected by this lockdown are changing how they sell and what they sell to suit the current environment. We have seen some amazing innovation, from taxis becoming delivery services, group planning kits turning to homeschooling kits, changing production to help supply essential resources, free delivery services for goods. 

Adapt to survive is the mantra now. Also, we have connected with a lot of new people, all who want to make things work and who are very positive minded under adversity.

What have you seen any negative behaviour in business? 

This situation we are all in together is awful. It grinds you down, it gives you anxiety, depression and gives you sleepless nights. I’ve noticed some people close to breaking with the pressure and that comes out in different ways. It is understandable. 

Some people attack others to make themselves feel better – like a form of therapy, uncorking the pressure. 

There are also a lot of scammers and those exploiting the situation to their gain in unscrupulous ways. Obviously, those strategies will not endure for the long term and people will have long memories.

What advice would you give to others in business? 

Accept things have changed. Brush off the hurt, the negativity and the losses and think hard about how your business can change, even entirely if necessary, to be useful to people through this crisis. 

If you are lucky there may be still customers and clients out there, but you need to try harder than usual to find them and connect to them.  

What can we do to help each other?

Don’t disappear. Talk to people. Connect with your story. Explain what you can do, not what you can’t. Most of us in business rely on networking. We can still connect in different ways.

I would advise against openly offering all your core services totally free right now, as it may well make it harder for your service to retain value, and your industry to survive. People may well take advantage of you with no intention to retain you after. At least, if you do take, be prepared to give in some form back, so it is two-way. 

Although we have launched a free service with our new food and drink discovery site, this is with a long view of connecting with businesses and raising profile, which is different to simply giving away what you do.

Your parting thought? 

We’re all finding our feet, and that’s worth remembering. Let’s be honest about this with each other and support each other, it’s really tough. I think there is a pervasive feeling of being alone in business, so let’s keep in touch and share what we are experiencing.

Find out more about Find Marketing Ltd by visiting their website, www.find.marketing