FortyTwo Studio – What We Know Now

In a whirlwind of 24-hour news cycles, rapidly changing circumstances and that ‘u’ word - the past month or so has been a blur for businesses across the globe, and Scotland are far from exempt.

In these times when business just isn’t as usual, it’s important to take all opportunities for support and assistance along the way, pool resources where possible, and share knowledge - always.

To that end, here are some resources that have hugely helped FortyTwo Studio, plus some that we think are potentially a major help to others and some other interesting opportunities you can grasp:

Wages, Rates Relief, Grants, Bursaries.

You’re not alone on this – currently 63% of UK businesses note a reduction in revenue and 61% have less than 3 months of cash flow (stats via British Chambers of Commerce). So it’s no surprise that the most sought-after information for all businesses has been the measures in place to help pay wages, keep staff employed and reduce outgoings.

You can get an overview of the various measures put in place by the UK government to support businesses here - including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which allows businesses to claim for 80% of furloughed employees wages, and also business rates holidays, small business grant funding and a variety of loan schemes. These are resources put in place to be used to ensure businesses get the relief they need, keep their staff paid and can bridge the gap in times when cash flow is at a low ebb. According to the British Chambers of Commerce, at time of writing 32% of businesses plan on furloughing between 75-100% of their employees in the coming weeks – so it’s essential support in this regard.

The Scottish Government outlined the support available on this really clear and user-friendly FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot website - where the support is broken down in terms of Funding, Business Continuity and Employment Issues.

Invest Aberdeen have collated a range of resources of businesses in Aberdeen and ‘shire, as have Aberdeenshire Council here - including business support grants and rates relief.

Creative Scotland’s support for arts, screen and creative businesses includes a Bridging Bursary funding programme and Screen Scotland’s Bridging Bursary programme for freelance/self-employed screen practitioners.

Advice for Teams, Comms and Welfare.

Business Gateway resources include contingency planning, managing your business’ reputation, managing a team remotely, utilising digital channels, communicating with customers, working from home, mental health advice and statutory sick pay guidance.

Mortgage Holidays, Advice for Renters and Guidance for Landlords/Letting Agents.

As well as taking care of business matters, it’s important that home life is secure for you and your colleagues/employees - and support is available for homeowners and those renting properties.

Employees can benefit from mortgage holidays of up to three months, pausing payments for that period to reduce expenditure. For renters, Shelter Scotland provides good information on support, rent issues, access and repair policies and Scottish Government policies on stopping evictions.

Meanwhile, clear guidance for landlords/letting agents is available via the Scottish Government website

Reach Out, Plan Ahead, Rethink.

Aside from the above, the best advice we can offer to businesses and organisations during the COVID-19 situation is reach out and talk to others - us included. If you know us, have worked with us, or just follow us on social media, get in touch and we’ll do our best to offer any help we can - we are all in this together. Find out what your peers, your friends and even ‘rival’ businesses are doing, and apply the practices that will work for you.

Three good starter steps:

— Support each other

— Share information

— Plan for today and for ahead

The first few months of ‘normal service’ will be just as crucial as what you do now, so it’s vital that you come out flying. Take the extra pockets of time that might appear to address projects that have been on the shelf for a while, plan out comms strategies for when restrictions are lifted, get your teams to look ahead to the future and hit the ground running.

Some other good practices that might help:

• Build robust systems for running your business remotely/from home/on the go, so you’re 100% prepared in future and feeling nimble.
  
• Keep planning for growth, but adjust the ‘when’ and the ‘how’ to reflect the new timelines we’re all working to.
• Look at your cash flow and forecast for best and worst scenarios over the next few months.
  
• Whilst HMRC are allowing VAT/PAYE payments to be deferred, pay them if you can. Try to minimise future financial overloads by paying what you can now.
• Do you lease equipment? Talk to your leasing agents about payment holidays - many are offering them but you need to reach out first.
• Talk to clients often. Not just about ongoing work too - but any other ancillary help you can offer. Sometimes they just want to share what’s going on with them, so offer a listening ear and a sounding board whenever you can.
• Be calm but upfront with your team, clients and suppliers. Your team are more resilient than you think, your clients are more understanding than you expect and suppliers are people too.
• Keep in touch with any organisations you’re a member of, business or otherwise. Join local business groups on apps like Whatsapp and Slack. They’re a great way to stay in touch with others in the same situation and share insights and resources
  

‘Uncertainty’ has been the typically mild-mannered and understated way of describing the coronavirus situation in the press and wider media - but there’s no reason for uncertainty to become a pandemic in its own right.