EFFECTS OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON A SMALL BUSINESS - DAY 5 (21/03/2020)

Today is really a day of thanks to everyone who has read and shared this blog, we didn’t open to the public as a shop today but we have still been receiving orders and thanks to yesterday’s blog we have made a fair few sales of the reusable face masks. Not quite enough to reroll someone but a few sales is better than none. Yesterday our sales dropped below the same time for last year but today they have risen against the same day last year at this time, I shared the Hand Sanitiser post on Instagram and Facebook and this has proved successful, it looks like people don’t mind the wait on it compared to the ridiculous prices shops are currently selling it for, also it is amazing how much fake hand sanitiser there now seems to be. What I will say is support businesses who are selling at normal pre Pandemic levels, share their posts not the ones charging criminal prices.

Do any of you want us to do a video on how to make the face masks, it’s something you can do at home, I for one can’t sew but I know many of you have sewing machines and will be able to make them yourselves. Even without a sewing machine check out the link I put on yesterday’s blog reference the best filters that can be found in the household. Not going to replace surgical or industrial masks but worth having the knowledge as this virus doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon.

While I was at work I got a call from Gary who owns a shop we supply RV3 BRECON, he said he was reading the blog and wanted to tell me that he is going to continue to buy stuff off us and wanted to check up on me to make sure I was alright. This is a shop on a military camp and if they close training down on Brecon it will vanish, the majority of his sales are from their shop on camp but he does have an online shop. I had to get off the phone to him as I thought I would cry, a small business that is far worse affected by the Pandemic than Contact Left is phoning us to say they will support us in whatever way they can. I encourage everyone who reads this to go and look at http://rv3brecon.co.uk/ and if you need anything give them a call.

Lots of items are selling well, like Air Rifle Pellets, Targets, Survival Fishing kits and loads of water carriers. Day 5 we are holding our own still.

I am writing this blog to ensure Contact Left keeps going and I want you all to share but right now we are doing okay, we will pay the wages this month no problem. If the business fails I need to know I have done my best to keep it going and keep everyone I can in work. It’s your ideas that are keeping us going but think of all the other self-employed and other small businesses as well, next week my mum (Co-Owner of Contact Left) will pay her hair dresser as she can afford to do that but is in a very high risk category so won’t be getting her hair cut. I know the government seems to have promised the world this week but look at Day 3’s blog on how I got on with trying to get an overdraft. All that glitters is not gold.

Thanks everyone for reading this and please share the life out of it and keep your ideas coming in on what we can make, buy in to sell or anything else that we can do at this time

David