Two Years On - the Warwickshire businesses that overcame the pandemic
As we emerge from the pandemic, businesses are not out of the woods yet. In 2022, the effects of Brexit are being felt with supply chains and recruitment at breaking point in some sectors. Two years on from the first lockdown, we look at some local businesses that all chose to take a positive mindset over the pandemic to come out stronger.
Grace Lyne, co-owner of Christopher Peters, an award-winning bespoke kitchen and interior design company with a showroom in Leamington Spa and a workshop in Coventry, had to adjust massively to the challenges of the pandemic.
“We were suddenly closed for business with no idea when we would be open again. In the end, we were shut for a total of eight months, and we could have easily wasted that time waiting for things to get back to normal.”
However, Grace did not take this option and instead the team at Christopher Peters worked with local business coach, Kevin Riley, throughout the pandemic to make the most of an unprecedented time.
“Kevin helped us view the pandemic as an opportunity. He guided us on which grants to apply for, and we used those to survive. We were also successful in receiving a grant which we invested in a new spray booth for our workshop when we reopened. During the first lockdown, we also revamped our website and sales approach ready for when our showroom was open again. It’s natural for people to make plans to improve their homes when they’ve been confined to them for months! We’re currently on track for our best year ever with an increase in annual turnover of 200% from the previous year.”
Founder of Leamington Spa-based education company Tutor in a Box, Sophie Parker, saw 90% of her customer base cancel her services as the pandemic hit.
“We were massively impacted – before the first lockdown I only had two students I worked with online. When exams got cancelled my whole business model crumbled. I had premises that I could no longer afford, and I was facing a lot of uncertainty. Rather than give up, Kevin held me to account and helped create a plan. When schools were shut at the end of March 2020, Kevin sat with me on the Friday of that week to plan out exactly what I could do. By Monday, I had put in place the infrastructure to be able to host live daily lessons remotely. Previously I had just taught students studying for their GCSEs; now we work with children from Years 1 to 13. At the start of the pandemic, I had a team of two tutors - now I have 25! All of our business is now online and we’ve recently been approved as part of the government’s tutoring catch-up scheme for students.”
Co-founder of Coventry-based digital design agency Twentytwo Digital, Lee Corden, took the business in an interesting direction as the first lockdown started.
“We decided to offer free services to our clients to show our loyalty. I was passionate about being there for them, so when they were back operating fully, we could share in the spoils. We also set up a 24-hour turnaround on e-commerce websites which meant we could fulfil the spike in demand for companies turning to online sales and delivery - think pizza restaurant changing to pizza delivery. Without having the sounding board of a business coach, we may have not succeeded with this approach. However, it paid off and due to our business growth, we’re on track to recruit 12 new staff members.”
“Our team at ActionCOACH Warwick was passionate about offering support to any business that wanted our help over the pandemic,” said Kevin. “Since March 2020, we’ve gifted 750 coaching sessions to the businesses of Warwickshire. To see the immense impact these businesses can now have on the local community is beyond fulfilling,” added Kevin.
To sign up for a free event with ActionCOACH Warwick, please visit https://warwick.actioncoach.co.uk/events/