Businesses across the globe have felt the devastating effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The UK has seen shops, pubs, restaurants & ‘non essential’ providers shutter their doors in mid March & for a large proportion of them; they are still not able to trade. As the UK tries to re-open the economy, public safety is still it’s No1 priority.

Over the past few months, we have all become very much more dependent on the home delivery networks which can deliver anything to our doors. As a society which has become accustomed to having a product on our door the very next day, we have seen the delivery networks be prioritised for medical supplies & ensuring those most vulnerable in our communities were provided for.

As the lockdown took hold, supermarkets adapted by turning their attentions to home deliveries & ‘click & collect’ for the vulnerable groups to ensure food supplies were still reaching those in need. Amazon were one of many companies working alongside the government to support the movement of PPE & essential medical supplies, using their international logistics network connections & larger manufacturing & medical companies answered the call t produce ventilators for the many Nightingale hospitals set up around the UK.

However, one thing the Government recognised, is that the hundreds of thousands of SME’s in the UK were struggling.

With comprehensive support packages in the shape of grants, zero balances on business rates & Government backed loans; many businesses have been able to shore themselves up from the inside & put strategies in place to survive.

We all know this will not be the case for everyone & our Government have repeatedly apologised for the fact that they will not be able to save every business.

However, a lot of businesses in the UK have found ways of not only surviving during the Covid19 crisis, but have found ways to thrive. Virtually Smart Ltd have looked at three local businesses in West Sussex (where Katy-Jane resides) & Nottingham (where Helena resides)

Hope Plants – Chichester, West Sussex

Hope Plants is a plant, shrub & compost home delivery service. Hope Plants was born from one of the large plant nurseries in Chichester. Hope Plants owner Matthew lost his job in horticulture sales due to Covid19 & at the same time the nurseries were full of plants, flowers & shrubs destined for DIY stores & Garden Centres which suddenly had nowhere to go. A Facebook post asking if anyone would like a home delivery service to support their gardening needs received a huge response & within a few days over 6000 people had liked the idea.

During the lockdown, Hope Plants was born, a website set up & a delivery network put in place to deliver bedding plants, grown your own, shrubs & compost to the local areas.

Now Hope Plants has become a thriving business & is officially a going concern, with a huge 17,866 likes on its Facebook page & a brilliant future ahead of itself.

The Body Suite – Chichester, West Sussex

The Body Suite Chichester is a successful Pilates studio set up by Dee Bodle. Dee having set up The Body Suite in the recession of 2007, has seen her fair share of up’s & down’s & she has over the years built a resilience to this & enabled her business to thrive.

With her partner Rafa, Dee has become a centre of excellence over the past few years & now an accredited educational establishment teaching the next generation of Pilates instructors & teachers.

Obviously teaching Pilates & having any kind of physical contact with clients has been impossible for The Body Suite, but in true Dee Bodle fashion, she has used her imagination & resilience to ensure her business survives.

Therefore, like many personal care & physical therapy establishments, Dee seamlessly moved her classes online & like so many, has used Zoom to enable her clients to still benefit from her expertise.

Barlows Butchers – Mansfield, Nottingham

Barlows Butchers are a family run business from Mansfield in Nottingham & have been running for over 70 years. Their reputation has been built on generations of knowledge & of course excellent customer service & customer interaction.

The Covid19 crisis was a challenge for Barlows as they had to adapt to HSE guidelines about not only limiting the amount of shoppers, keeping social distance, hand sanitisation & for them as a fresh meat establishment, they even had to close at some points during the working day to sanitise contact areas within their premises.

Creating shift patterns & a buddy system for their staff, saw them have to reduce the hours the shops were open, to enable them to keep on top of the delivery orders & restock their shop safely. Barlows have had to adapt, like thousands of other fresh produce suppliers across the UK.

However, Barlows have throughout this crisis not only adapted, but they have found ways to the thrive. Despite it going against their business ethos to move their business online, taking pride in their face to face contact & direct customer interaction; they have adapted to the needs presented by the Covid19 crisis & by developing an online ordering service, they have not only survived, but they have thrived.

Barlows Butchers Facebook page is a testament to their success with positive review after positive review & their social media presence has increased enabling them to be seen by more potential customers & to help them remain in contact with their established customer base.

These are just three examples of how some independent businesses have found ways to adapt & to thrive during the Covid19 crisis & in doing do have strengthened their customer base, their customer interaction & built a resilience going forward.

Written by Katy-Jane for & on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd