BSF – Our Small Business Review- The Year of Covid19

This year will never be forgotten, that much is sure, and it has definitely been a hugely challenging time for us all.

I thought I would take a moment to reflect over how the year has unfolded for me and my family business.

January - The beginning

2020 started with a bang, exciting times, the start of a new decade.

My brother and I had been working on our plans for BSF Solid Surfaces, in light of our fathers declaration of Independence ( planned retirement at the end of 2020 )

We hit the ground running in January. Busy busy, lots of exciting projects and enthusiasm for our plans and goals.

On the other side of the world, the tragedy of what became known as COVID19 in China was unfolding, which I watched with unease in the pit of my stomach.

February

We carried on full steam ahead, still full of plans and enthusiasm. We organised our big company meeting where we announced the changes afoot, as David intended to retire in December.

Paul and I talked about a contingency plan, contemplating the unthinkable as countries around the world began heading into lockdown.

We had so much to consider:

How could we make this work from home when many of our systems are not cloud based?

Could we continue working remotely?

What tools did we have and need?

Who needed what?

Who would pay for it and how?

After much consideration we started to plan

March

We pressed ahead with our plans, with some companies showing sign of caution early in the month.

On 11th March The World Health Organisation declared Covid19 a pandemic.

The feeling around us was becoming more of impending doom, with Coronavirus updates every day held by Government and health officials, Covid19 became very real.

Hand sanitiser disappeared from the shelves and people started stockpiling toilet rolls and pasta?!

We organised what we needed using the tools we had, we were as ready as we could be for the prospect of working from home.

The week before the first lockdown

That fateful week before the first lockdown was such a weird week, filled with tension and fear.

Our team were scared.

Our fitters were scared

Our customers were scared

Our suppliers were scared

We were scared

The schools closed.

Followed by pubs, coffee shops and restaurants.

The anxiety came bubbling to the top, a bit like when you are on a rollercoaster at the top and have no choice but to go down…here it came.

On Friday 20th March the Government announced the furlough scheme as it became known. This was a relief although still a worry as we did not know how that would work and how quickly it would come into play.

Then the day arrived, Monday 23rd March, when Boris announced to the nation that we were on National Lockdown.

We could have stayed open, being in Construction.

But our team were frightened

Health over Wealth was our mantra then, it still is today.

We made the choice shut the doors to our factory. Not an easy decision, but absolutely the right one for us at that time.

Working from Home

So we started working from home, how did this look for us?

Emails on laptops

Central drive on the cloud for shared documents

WhatsApp groups for communication

Tasks shared among us

Increased visibility across Social Media channels

Marketing, always marketing, all the time.

Work undertaken on the website

This time was tough

We entered April not really knowing how the furlough scheme would work, taking the decision to furlough all but myself, Paul and Allison.

I worried constantly that we had made the right choice to close and what the consequences of this action would be.

Everyone was worried about how they would get paid.

I worried about how we would get paid by the government.

Working with our accountants we put our claim in and waited.

It was excruciating

BUT, it worked.

The Government came through for us and the money landed in the bank with relative ease. The relief was huge.

What happened next?

Slowly but surely our clients started opening sites again and requesting their works to be done.

People were awakening from their slumber

Mid April we ventured back into the office to discuss our plan to return to fabricating, with the correct measures in place to keep our team as safe as possible.

It felt good to be considering a return

The Bounce Back Loan was announced, finally things seemed a little brighter.

4th May- the return to the factory

We entered the factory and office on 4th May, a reduced team, but a team nonetheless.

We had decided to keep half the team on furlough for a while, to see how things worked out.

Monday 1st June

The rest of our team returned, confident that we could keep them as safe as possible

·        We put measures in place:

·        Taking the temperature of all who enter the building

·        Everyone entering the building has their temperature taken

·        Everyone must use the hand sanitiser

·        Where possible use gloves and other PPE provided

·        Only one person at a time in the kitchen, wipe surfaces down and hand sanitise

·        Keep 2m distance from each other as much as possible

·        Office has been rearranged to adhere to social distancing

·        Limited visitors

·        Signage in Place

We also implemented the following:

·        Everyone must use the hand sanitiser

·        Where possible use gloves and other PPE provided

·        Only one person at a time in the kitchen, wipe surfaces down and hand sanitise

·        Keep 2m distance from each other as much as possible

·        Office has been rearranged to adhere to social distancing

·        Limited visitors

June-September

This strange period from the full team returning until September encompassed a more normal reality for us.

We were back in the office and factory, manufacturing all this time.

What have we been working on? We made a decision to actively increase our visibility and engage as much as possible with our clients, existing and prospective.

We worked harder than ever, producing our first ever online, interactive, training on the world of Solid Surface, which is available to all customers and potential customers alike (click here to find out more if you are interested in this for you or your team).

We produced a brands book, explaining all about the different brands we offer and work with, as it became apparent there was a need to explain about the availability of products to our customer base, click here if you would like a download of this book.

We had fun with our A-Z Series, which we complied into a handy e-book which you can download here

We introduced our new series - The Only Way Is Solid Surface- TOWISS.

Changes that are notable:

Our Suppliers have struggled to maintain consistent stock levels and deliveries timings have altered.

Holidays had to be cancelled as we adapted to new ways of living.

Mask wearing, rule of 6, being allowed inside with friends for dinner, then not being allowed inside.

This year has been the Hokey Cokey on many different levels.

Being in the factory and working as before, whilst reviewing everything and probably working harder than ever, has remained our one constant.

October- December 2020

This year of constant change altered again from October onwards.

The limited freedoms we have begun to enjoy again in the summer were restricted once again.

As a company we doubled our efforts on remaining and becoming even more visible.

We began a new series- Fabrication in Action- which is part of TOWISS and serves to demonstrate how we produce the amazing items we manufacture.

We re-introduced and re-branded our regular mail-out "The Voice of Solid Surface". Why not sign up here to make sure you don't miss anything.

But probably the most exciting thing we have done this year is to launch a brand new range of Solid Surface tables - Xen Tableau- which is only the beginning of this product line. If you are interested to know more about this exciting new offering, why not click here to get more information.

The second lockdown

The second lockdown and Tier system, along with the beginning of the vaccination process have served to push us towards the end of a very turbulent and tumultuous year.

As we move ever swiftly towards the end of this year, we remain busy.

What next?

We are now in Tier 3, with even more restrictions imposed against meeting family and friends.

This year, Christmas will be a very different experience. There will be no Christmas lunch.

Everyone is still very mindful and being careful.

This is a small price to pay for what we have achieved and for the health of our team.

What has 2020 taught me, this year that has been full of hardship, change and uncertainty?

This year I learnt how I am a very resilient person.

That those I surround myself with are positive, forward thinking people

That we can do hard things!

That I CHOOSE to bring my team with me on what we plan to be an amazing future.

COVID19 gifted us opportunities and time to learn, network and think outside the box like never before.

COVID19 also destroyed many things, it cannot be argued, and has left a trail of devastation unseen for a long time in its path.

My hope is that we have learnt, we are wiser, we are kinder and we are stronger for this experience.

I can only express my gratitude to our team, customers and suppliers for their ongoing support?

Let’s make the next phase of our journey fabulous!

Stay Safe, Stay Strong & Stay Positive

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

To 2021 and beyond!

Nicola x 

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Nicola Barden is the Managing Director of her family business, BSF Solid Surfaces Ltd, offering high end, bespoke counter surfaces from Solid Surface, a high end man made stone, for both commercial and residential projects, website www.bsfsolidsurfaces.com

She can be contacted on [email protected] or give her a call on 01277 263603 if you want to chat about anything, or nothing in particular.

In her spare time she can be found with her husband, son, two cats and crazy dog. They enjoy going to the zoo, the park, the rides and anything that allows their energetic son to expend his endless amounts of energy!