A summary of how COVID-19 is affecting one of many small businesses in the UK.
Coronavirus.
A word I am sure everyone is familiar with; it has been plastered on newspapers, television, radio, social media for weeks. Everywhere you look: CORONAVIRUS. It has badly affected businesses all over the world – causing bankruptcy, redundancy and slow business. To some people, the closure of businesses temporarily or permanently means their weekly meetings with friends at their favourite coffee shop stop or they are unable to purchase that dress they really wanted from Primark but for the majority it means pay cuts, unemployment and financial crisis.
This post is not an intentional dig at those who enjoy the frivolity of life, it is a post of awareness for those who may be sitting comfortably in their job with a business cycle that continues despite the global pandemic. It is an insight into the life of one of many small, family-owned businesses that are struggling during this time.
Hate My Phone was established in 2016 and, in the sense of business relationships, has gradually grown bigger over the years. With a healthy business cycle, Hate My Phone continues to create partnerships with a variety of different sized companies, recycle, refurbish and reset a high number of mobile phones per month and then sell them on to a wide customer base that includes partners, other businesses and everyday people looking for a new phone.
However, in recent times, this process has severely slowed down – we have watched partnerships pause due to companies laying off employees or new companies become undiscoverable as they have shut down or run out of stock. While we are fortunate enough to still be operating, with no new stock, it is only a matter of time before we join the many places closing until further notice.
Working remotely has negatively affected the business – it is a hands-on process that requires someone being in the office to ensure the eBay side of our business continues running. In order to keep our head above water, we need to meet a certain target per day; this has barely, if at all, been achieved since the lockdown. This is the reality for a lot of businesses however the vitality of prioritising health over business needs to be emphasised; the rapid rate of company closures is extremely unfortunate but the rate of death and infection is severely worse.
For now, Hate My Phone continues to operate and sell phones through eBay and trade but the Hate My Assets branch will be paused until after the pandemic. While it is important to keep the business alive, approaching customers and trying to garner business off companies who may or may not be vulnerable is unfair. Desperate times do not always call for desperate measures, it’s more important to the team at Hate My Phone that our customers are safe and healthy. So, for that reason, this post will not end with the generic business jargon such as, “if you need to buy tablets, iPads or phones to work from home – check out our website!” but instead with a genuine plea to wash your hands, avoid unnecessary contact and, above all, stay safe.