One of the best things about being a part of Business Changing family is being a part of the brains trust — so many clever people from all kinds of sectors that we get to lean on and learn from, both personally and professionally.
We asked some of them (like Juliette Hogan, pictured) for their advice, insights and learnings from Covid and lockdown/s in the hope that it might inspire, reassure or motivate you.
WHAT HAS COVID TAUGHT YOU?
“When faced with tough decisions, our biggest lesson was to be guided by our values (do good, be nice, think smart), whether that was decisions with staff, responding to customers, billing decisions etc”
Mark Carley, MD of Hire Plants
“Covid has taught me how deep I can dig and how much resilience I have. It’s also taught me what I need to do to keep my team engaged during unprecedented times when we were unable to operate.
I learned that the years of building a brand pay off in times of hardship, when trust is a high-value commodity for consumers.
It also taught me the importance of choosing your landlords carefully — it’s a reminder that it’s a long-term relationship and before going into any new lease now I’ll make sure I like the way the landlord does business. I’ve gone so far as to reference-check potential new landlords with how well they treated their tenants during lockdown. The best behaviour of future behaviour is past behaviour, as they say.”
Hady Olt, managing director of Forme Spa & Wellbeing/Spa Solutions
“It has taught us that we need to be prepared for worst-case scenarios and to have enough stock to allow for any shipment delays. Our staff have been superb at taking on extra projects — we have been forced to give some of them projects we would normally do ourselves, so seeing that they are more than capable to succeed with new responsibilities has been great.”
Andy & Katie Gray, owners of Giftbox Boutique
“That we are capable, smart and resilient team. That I still love what I do and that I love a challenge and am ready to fight to protect what we have created thus far.”
Juliette Hogan, founder of Juliette Hogan
HAS IT FORCED YOU TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO YOUR BUSINESS THAT HAS PROVED BENEFICIAL?
“Absolutely. I used the time to really inspect every element of the business closely and as a result we made significant structural changes that have greatly enhanced our productivity — allowing us to actually give pay rises post lockdown to our team! It also allowed us the time to devise and implement a new digital strategy that we hope plays long-term dividends.”
Hady Olt, managing director of Forme Spa & Wellbeing/Spa Solutions
“A shift to frequent and transparent communication directly from me to our community around the impact of Covid-19 on our people, business operations and industry required me personally to be open to being vulnerable. As sole owner of the business, I felt a real and genuine need to protect the JH team and businesses connected to us and a responsibility to use my influence to bring positive change.”
Juliette Hogan, founder of Juliette Hogan
“A good part of our income comes from face-to-face training so Covid had an immediate and worrying impact on our revenue. Pivot time! We had long thought of delivering more training online so lockdown suddenly became our opportunity. Almost overnight we reinvented ourselves and our materials so that we could deliver high quality, engaging training. Our 34 team members were fantastic, tackling the challenge with both trepidation and determination. Everyone pitched in to make it happen. Those who had never seen themselves delivering live online training quickly (and proudly) became experts. And client feedback was excellent. So we now have the skills, technical equipment, and digital materials to offer training anywhere in the world. Definitely a win!”
Lynda Harris, CEO of Write
“To be honest we have been able to hire new staff earlier as we have been busier than expected.”
Andy & Katie Gray, owners of Giftbox Boutique
“With different parts of the business being more affected than others it has led to us focusing on our core business and reweighting the effort and focus in other areas.
With the speed of changes, we quickly had a closer focus on cashflow and financial management and also forecasting a range of scenarios so that I now have an idea of what our tolerances are at different levels of impact to the business.
Like most people, the rapid change to more remote working led to increased priority in communication and connection, keeping people together and being more deliberate in keeping people informed.”
Mark Carley, MD of Hire Plants
IT’S BEEN A STRESSFUL TIME WITH A LOT OF UPHEAVEL AND UNCERTAINTY. WHAT MANTRA IS GETTING YOU THROUGH?
“The Robbie Williams line: “I sit and talk to God, and he just laughs at my plans” has been my Covid mantra ha ha.”
Mark Carley, MD of Hire Plants
“This time will pass. We will get through, one day at a time. Use the time to ensure there is a return. We will be stronger, wiser and better as a consequence.”
Hady Olt, managing director of Forme Spa & Wellbeing/Spa Solutions
“Just to accept what is happening that is beyond our control and to be thankful that we are not one of many businesses that are not able to operate.”
Andy & Katie Gray, owners of Giftbox Boutique
‘Look for silver linings. We find what we look for. Focus on what we CAN do, not what’s happening around us that’s beyond our control. Thrive, not just survive.’
Lynda Harris, CEO of Write
“Sticking to our core values of honesty and integrity has been such a great driver for decision making. There have been some tough calls to make but I am proud of myself, the management team and the wider JH team for the way in which we have handled it.”
Juliette Hogan, founder of Juliette Hogan
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY UPSIDES?
“Yes, making those changes has created a better business model, creating enhanced productivity and allowing us to pay our team more. It’s given me time to reflect on what is important in life, what I want the future to look like, and to consider the steps necessary to make that happen.”
Hady Olt, managing director of Forme Spa & Wellbeing/Spa Solutions
“I think it’s given us a really good opportunity to refocus and look at what is in our control and what we can work on vs what we can’t.”
Mark Carley, MD of Hire Plants
“Our business has the luxury of being only online, so we were well adapted to the changes in consumer behaviour caused by Covid, which we are grateful for.”
Andy & Katie Gray, owners of Giftbox Boutique
“The first lockdown was the longest time I have ever spent away from the office and this enabled me to think about the business instead of being in the business. We made some bold decisions around people, brand, and operations and the business has emerged stronger, the team more connected and committed, and our customers more loyal than ever before.”
Juliette Hogan, founder of Juliette Hogan
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