Wales Lockdown Autumn 2020 – Business Owners Impact!

John Nelligan

30-11-20

Impact of lockdown on Welsh Business Owners

Wales entered its second nation-wide lockdown of 2020 at 6pm on Friday 23^rd of October. The Welsh Governments decision to go for a short sharp ‘circuit break’ was based on increasing trends in Covid infection across all parts of the country. Whilst it may not be as severe as the first lockdown in March, as many businesses can continue trading, there will still be huge swathes of family owned businesses that will be impacted in some way or other.

The media in Wales has placed a £500m impact on the Welsh economy and this will without a doubt feed through to businesses in all parts of Wales. This at a time when many family businesses were just gaining some momentum, consistency and continuity after re-opening in June after the last lockdown.

Missed events

The Autumn in Wales is a very special time. Halloween, Bonfire Night, Autumn Internationals and Beaujolais create the springboard for the run into Christmas festive activities. In turn, these calendar events combine to get the tills ringing. Sadly, winter 2020 is likely to be a much different experience to many over the last 75 years.

What can your business do?

If you run or own a business, taking action is not an option! It needs to happen whichever sector that you operate in. So, what does business advice mean in reality?

Check if a market still exists for your products or your services by reviewing market intelligence.
Has customer buying behaviour changed?
How accessible are you digitally? Is your website doing what it should according to your marketing planning?
Can you sell online?
Do you have some accumulated cash from the various schemes that have been available to anchor business support in 2020?
Have you undertaken a ‘deep dive’ review of all your costs and identified efficiencies and savings?
Have raw material costs increased?
Do YOU need to increase YOUR prices?

This simple audit will maximise your chances of success going forward and enhance the prospects of your business’s survival during these challenging times.

Having a short-term budget and cashflow projection will cement the all-important financial aspect of your business. This will always be recommended by Business Doctors as professional business consultants.