COVID-19: The Sequel
What a week that was! Everyday, we are reacting to the plethora of changes that COVID-19 brings in the environment, and recalibrating our business posture to meet the challenges. We’re still more than busy with work, and still coming up with new ideas every day.
Overall, it was a good week, and we are delighted and encouraged by the smart things that people are doing to deal with this crisis:
1. Halifax Seed goes online/off-line/online, again.
Within a week, our client had to shut down their retail stores due to social distancing measures, and switch to online sales and curbside pick up. What a transformation! For a 154 year old company, they sure moved fast. Plenty of customers and Halifax in Saint John found a new pastime for stay-at-home and social distancing measures - learning to grow. By Friday last week, we had to “pause” the online store to allow staff to catch up on the backlog of orders, and get a little rest! Online sales have surged, and have already surpassed last year‘s total.
2. Theatre Nova Scotia, take a bow!
Another one of our clients, Theatre Nova Scotia, had scheduled and planned their annual celebration of theatre - the Merritt Awards - on March 30th. Emboldened by one of the best known phrases in entertainment, “the show must go on”, Theatre NS quickly re-purposed to an online format to recognize it’s members and patrons. It wasn’t quite as good as the ‘original’ Merritt Awards, but as everyone should know, the best way to experience theatre in Nova Scotia is live!
3. The best time for Digital Transformation.
One of our colleagues, Peter Eastwood, saw his traditional craft fairs and markets disappearing as a result of social distancing measures. He also saw potential revenues disappear from his hand crafted pottery business, Eastwood Pottery. He quickly set about to build an online marketplace for Nova Scotia makers and crafters to sell their wares, online. A week later (yes, one week!) it was up and running, accepting applications with artisans already receiving orders. Check it out: novascotiamakers.ca, and please - buy local!
4. Make the world a better place, one company at a time.
Symplicity Designs, another one of our clients, looked at the rapidly diminishing prospects for their training business, and quickly launched a series of COVID-19 readiness seminars, helping companies in our region plan and manage their way through the crisis. Hundreds of owner-operated businesses have checked in to date, with the series now scheduled daily. And, all free of charge! We’ve checked into several sessions, and were inspired to package our own special skill sets into a new export program we called, Rebound Ready.
5. A penny saved is a penny earned.
In economic times like this, revenue generation can be challenging and so, it becomes more important than ever to manage or reduce your expenses to support sustainability. We’ve been working with many of our vendors, to find efficiencies and savings. One of our office colleagues was able to analyze and deliver a 25% cost savings program for one of his clients, and the analysis was free! Reach out if you would like a referral.
6. Virtual Beer Friday.
The craziness wouldn’t have been complete without an end of week check in – over Google Hangouts. Everybody had a cold beer and a laugh, as well as a chance to take us all away from our new world realities, and connect as human beings. We have unilaterally declared it a success!
Cheers to this upcoming week!