Chloe Clennell, owner of the Piggery Secondhand Book Shop in Whangarei, is pleased with a resurgence of reading that occurred due to Covid-19. Photo / Supplied
It's been a challenging year for Northland business owners as they've grappled with an onslaught of Covid-19 restrictions and changes. Reporter Jenny Ling revisits some of the businesses the Northern Advocate has talked to over the last few months to see what they've learned.
How did you adjust your business?
The Piggery opened for business under level 3, and also did contactless deliveries, online and phone orders, and click and collect.
Biggest lesson learned:
That people have gone back to reading as a result of the lockdown. It's been incredibly busy since it opened up again because so many people were caught without books.
A lot of people have rediscovered reading through having to be at home and not working. It's been wonderful having people come back to reading ... it seems books aren't dying after all.
We've also found people are a lot more adaptable than they thought they were.
A lot of people we dealt with, like the publishing companies, they've all been having to adapt and have been eager to help and get back to the swing of things again. We've all had to make subtle changes.
What we'd do differently:
If we had warning, I'd tell people to stock up. You need books for this otherwise you're going to regret it!
Tips moving forward?
It's not returning to normal, it's just adapting to what is now available.
Stay flexible. You don't have to stick to the same rigid ways of doing things.
That's something Kiwis are really good at. I hate the phrase the "new normal" - it's about being able to adapt.
How did you adjust your business?
Even though we could have opened under level 3, the Village Café stayed closed until level 2 because the kitchen was too small for social distancing and meals weren't made to be taken away.
Biggest lesson learned:
That I hate table service. During level 2 we were not allowed to serve inside so we had a restricted menu and everyone had to sit outside until we served them.
It was difficult, we'd never done that. A lot of our customers are regulars who come in, look around and pay and get served at the counter.
But the rules meant we couldn't have that and the difficulty in communicating that was astronomical. That's not their normal process and they thought because you could go to the supermarket, why was my café not the same?
I was obliged to do what the Government was asking with social distancing and contact tracing. At the beginning everyone was happy but during the end of level 2 people were at the point of rudeness. I'm really glad to be in level 1 and out of that.
What we'd do differently:
I wouldn't change anything. I'm very happy with what we did. What I've done throughout the whole period was the best way I could have done it.
Tips moving forward?
Just be nice – it's the easiest thing.
People just want community around them and if you're getting upset about things, that's not bringing the right vibe to the town.
Just be happy and kind. It's not hard if you're in the right place with the right people.
How did you adjust your business?
Hello Pickle Cafe opened under level 3 doing deliveries and offering contactless takeaways from an online menu from a new website. The café also had a sliding window at the front to do contactless service through.
Biggest lesson learned:
How strong the community is in Whangārei. We've been thoroughly supported through all the levels by locals and regulars. It's overwhelming how supportive they've been.
What we'd do differently:
See if there's some way we could help vulnerable people, how we could offer leftover food for people in need. That's an area, from a non-commercial point of view, we could have had an impact on.
Other than that, I wouldn't change anything, we did the best we could with what we were given at the time. I'm proud of us as a small group running this shop.
You're just thinking on your feet the whole time, and when the alert levels change, coming up with a strategy in a few days. Then doing a lot of reading up on what the expectations were, especially as a food business with pretty strict guidelines.
Tips moving forward?
Be clear on any social platforms you have, what the rules are to make it clear to your audience and the public. It's a key aspect to things running smoothly.
There was a lot of confusion about what business owners could and couldn't do. Especially at level 3 when we had contactless, there were misunderstandings about using cash, whether to text orders beforehand, with people presuming things were normal despite the circumstances.
How did you adjust your business?
Huanui Fresh went online for the first time, did deliveries and click and collect, ramped up its social media presence and took loads of orders via email.
Biggest lesson learned:
You can diversify when you really have to. It's that old cliché, when times are tough the tough get going.
You think you're going along fine and you're doing the best you can, then something like that happens and you're forced to look again.
You can do a whole heap of things differently that you never thought you could. Sometimes you don't necessarily know how many loyal customers you have.
I was really humbled by the loyalty of our customers and how much they appreciated what we were doing. It makes you appreciate them more as well.
What we'd do differently:
If I'd known we were going to shut our doors to normal trading, I would have put the website in place earlier, and ironed out issues and had it ready and up and running.
You should always be prepared for the unexpected and have good, sound systems in place and good backup plans. Having good core staff who you can call on in those times was important too.
Tips moving forward?
It's important to have a good buffer in your bank account.
A lot of businesses run things very much to the wire week-to-week, and it's important to, right from the start, try to have a buffer there for those unexpected times.
You never know when something like that's going to happen. That's really important, otherwise you'd sink.
How did you adjust your business?
Ferment did wine deliveries during the lockdown, had a coffee window open during level 3 and was able to reopen the shop at level 2 for wine sales. The number of tables in the bar was halved and they were spaced further apart to abide by social distancing rules.
Biggest lesson learned:
Being adaptable. We were able to do contactless deliveries and hadn't done deliveries before.
We're now working on having an online presence we never had before. In two or three months we will be online.
We had lots of people say they'd like to buy wine online but we couldn't offer that. We sell a lot of really cool wines and need to open up the way people can get to them.
The other good thing about lockdown is that you had a lot of time to think about your business. It was nice for everything to slow down. That was a positive which came out of a negative thing.
What we'd do differently:
Have an online presence. Have it all ready so if something like that happened and your physical address couldn't open you can still deal with clients.
Tips moving forward?
Be adaptable. Think of ways you can keep your customer base going.
How did you adjust your business?
We developed an app which was made available on the website, and offered contactless click and collect for takeaways from The Quay and The Cove under level 3.
Biggest lesson learned:
Having some cashflow readily available in times of emergency is important because there's some things you can't plan for.
So, having some immediate cashflow to help with any shock that you encounter so you can still pay the bills, wages and rent is really important.
Also, try and make your business as streamlined as you can so if something happens you're going to come out the other side leaner. There's no reason you can't be leaner the whole way through.
What we'd do differently:
I would be more positive about the outcome. I was so negative when it first happened.
When we were opening back up (at level 2) no one had any idea how it was going to be and wondered if anyone was going to walk through the doors ... and they did.
I was quite pessimistic about the future. Now I'm quite optimistic. I wouldn't be quite so unsure what the future is going to hold.
Tips moving forward?
Always try and reinvent yourself, over and over. We opened The Quay with a brand-new menu. Reinvent yourself and try and push yourself forward without looking back.
Even though we're all different, try and keep yourself fresh and keep people interested in you.
We upped our social media and engaged with people more and I think we're probably trying to involve ourselves in the local community more, because we realise how important they are.
The support from locals has been amazing.
The latest news bites from around the region.