Small business owner Sam Burt admits he was "done over" by Covid-19 – but he is not complaining. In fact he is thankful.
The pandemic initially looked as if it was going to mess up his life – but it led to him starting up his business back on home soil. He had been working in London as an electrician for several years when he returned to New Zealand with his wife and two young boys to attend a funeral in early 2020.
But while here the country went into its first lockdown and, with his return flight back to the UK cancelled, he was stuck. After mulling things over for a few weeks, he decided to abandon his London life and start afresh at home.
"In some ways I was really done over by Covid," he says. "But to be honest I'm glad I got stuck here because things (with the pandemic) were pretty severe in England and I realised I had an opportunity to start my own business.
"I could have gone back to the company I worked for in Wellington before I went overseas, but I found friends and family kept asking me to do jobs for them and it sort of grew from there."
Burt runs a one-man electrical contracting business in Wellington and two years on from his Covid-inspired start, things are going so well the 28-year-old is not only looking at taking on an apprentice, but also at digitally transforming his operation, thanks to a $4000 cash grant as part of a Chorus competition aimed at helping small business enterprises like his.
The prize also means Burt's had his internet upgraded to a fibre broadband connection, tailored specifically by Chorus for business use. He was already using a cloud-based accounting app and, now he's on business fibre, is much better positioned to employ a full range of digital tools and digitise further. First cab off the rank, though, is creating a website for the business (SBurt Electrical).
"I'm pretty hands on with IT," he says. "I've used a bit of tech and I know what I'm doing with that. Winning the Chorus competition is great because now, with a website, I can take my business the next digital step, get my name out there and be comfortable about employing someone."
While he is able to handle the current volume of work, Burt says he is looking at employing an apprentice or another registered electrician to cope with the expected growth in business.
"Things are working out well for me. Because of the pandemic people aren't travelling overseas and instead many are spending money on their houses; Covid has done me wonders to be honest."
Dean Pointon, Head of Business & Networks at Chorus says Burt has started from the ground up. "He is evolving digitally, but needs a strong presence online and to get into e-commerce to drive his business forward. He does a mix of residential and commercial work and a website will help inform existing and future clients what the business does and where it came from."
He says his use of a Xero cloud-based accounting and invoicing app is also proving beneficial to his life-work balance. "I can do quotes or send an invoice on the go, out on the job. It saves having to handwrite everything or employ someone else to do it.
"It gives me more time to spend with my wife and boys (they are aged four and five) in the evenings," he says. "I play squash a couple of times a week and a bit of golf too, so I am able to fit these things in as well."
Boosting your online presence
One of the lessons for SMEs in the Covid pandemic is the need for a strong online presence to reach customers when they can't trade face-to-face. There are a huge range of services to suit all needs and skill levels that help get a business online quickly.
Following are some Chorus tips on how to move your business online:
• Buy your domain name from a reputable registrar like Domainz or iwantmydom.
• Check out an easy-to-use website builder like Squarespace, Wix or Weebly. Select your design and customise it to suit your business.
• Looking for a comprehensive ecommerce solution? Take a look at the plans offered by Shopify.
• Utilise Google My Business to tell your customers when you're open. Setting up a profile is free, and it allows you to connect with customers across Google searches and Google Maps.
• Add a 'contact us' form to your website – and make sure it's easy to
See here for more tips on moving your business online through Covid-19.
Cloud-based tools increase productivity
These have been a game-changer for many small businesses, not only helping to automate processes and increase productivity, but offering flexible, scalable solutions to fit any size of business and budget. So what apps and software are businesses flocking to? Here's some suggestions from Chorus:
• Storage and document management to keep data secure and well organised – and find it when you need it. Box and Dropbox, Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace are popular choices for SMEs.
• Online accounting software and extensions which help process timesheets or invoices and automate workflows. Nearly 60 per cent of small businesses use online accounting software like Xero or MYOB.
• Software to automate the management of things such as employees' salaries, wages, bonuses and time-off. Often payroll can be integrated with your online accountancy software, but there are also specific payroll software for New Zealand businesses like FlexiTime, and PaySauce that offer added features like combining timesheeting and payroll.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to help you bring together customer data, allowing you to provide better support and targeted marketing, and thereby increasing engagement. Basic CRM can start with a simple Trello board or Airtable, however, more sophisticated systems like HubSpot or Mailchimp can help you take the thinking out of the equation by organising, automating, and prompting your customer database, sales flow, and marketing.
• Increasingly sophisticated software – and even the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) – can monitor sales leads and activity, pipelines and wins. Pipedrive and monday.com are great examples of Sales Automation and CRM all-rounders that can easily integrate with many other apps you may have.
See here for more on the best cloud-based applications to help your business thrive.
To find out more about which specific connection features would best suit your business, check our Chorus' recommendation tool at chorus.co.nz/business