18 DEBATE
SP: I’ve been considering some low-level e-commerce projects and this situation has given me time to say that if I do nothing else, I’m coming out of this period with two e-commerce sites.
We visit customers in the home and that’s something we can’t do at the moment, so our revenue has dropped to absolutely nothing. If I’d have had a direct offering, I know I would have done some good trade.
We have to be agile and ask how we might change our business model to make sure we have more strings to our bow. If something like this happens again, if we get a second lockdown in autumn, I want to be in a position to be able to do some trade during that time.
LB: One of my concerns over the technology, is mental health and what’s really going on with people. On the screen we’re with you but we’re not really with you, we’re missing some of the senses, that feeling you get when you’re with somebody.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things
JD: People are being forced to embrace technologies like Zoom and realising in some instances it’s easy to adopt and is a way forward. But we don’t want to isolate people. Perhaps we’ll do more social activities with staff, so you get that connection. You are meeting, not necessarily in the workplace, and at the same time you’re reconnecting with the staff.
CT: The new digital world has opened up lots for everybody but if we can, we need to find that balance of still meeting up together.
HH: The virtual office has many opportunities but we’ve all got to look and understand how we’re going to work that in the new digital world. You’ve just got to embrace it and use it where you can.
What kind of support do Lancashire business leaders need to face the challenges and where can they get it?
LB: I’ll always say, ‘Send people to Boost.’ Some smaller businesses are struggling financially and may not get a lot out of the government if they’re sole traders. It allows me to give my services to help people understand their emotions so they can get on with business.
There are lots of online services, people are still delivering coaching, mentoring. Mindfulness organisations are doing free things, there are lots of apps out there.
HH: Having a peer network around you of other business leaders that you know and trust provides a huge element of support. It also allows you to challenge your thinking. Sometimes thinking in isolation can be dangerous.
We’ve got to start thinking, ‘We’re not going to wait to get more certainty, we’re just going to take charge of our own destiny’. Those more willing to change and adapt are going to be less bothered by the uncertainty.
MS: Information will help create some form of certainty and that’s where Boost is brilliant. Having a place that you can go to get reliable information.
I won’t knock the government, they’re doing a great job, it’s just a really tough situation. What we need in Lancashire is some degree of flexibility. There are bits of the supply chain that are struggling to get support and that’s where maybe a more local approach can actually help.
KS: We need to lead, to take charge. When we’re faced with these challenges people come together, people become a lot more empathetic and sympathetic. That’s what we need to build on. The question is, how can we support ourselves? How can businesses help other businesses?
Going forward, we need to understand what assets are available to us and how we can best use them.
SP: It is important that as we start to emerge out of this we come together as a community, because the problem is so great nationally that the best place to start is locally. It is about accessing resources in Lancashire to strengthen our community and support other businesses. Whether that’s a helping hand, a listening ear or whatever.
NB: We work closely with the National Careers Service; we’re supporting people who have been furloughed and made redundant. We’re educating them and starting to retrain them. As a college we can support business that way.
We are regularly communicating with businesses about what’s happening, but we need clarity so we can move forward and come up with strategies to help them recover.
JD: Boost’s ‘Ask for Help’ service is available to any business and start-up in Lancashire and it’s important we get that message out. It can be accessed by one phone call that is answered in
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SF: We have to create a new future for Lancashire. The LEP has been working to create sector groups, where we can bring people together to think about what that future needs to look like, and we want to progress that.
If a business looks to government for certainty it will look for a long time. The only thing that’s certain is the certainty you try and create for yourself, with the help of others.
If there’s ever an argument for devolution, this is it. This is the point where Lancashire needs to wake up to the fact we need a devolved county.
We need the same powers, the same funding, the same budgets as Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and we need to come out of this and set that as our goal and our ambition and get it done.
MS: Support in Lancashire is great. The resource, the talent, everything is great. What is really needed is a clear vision, how do we really support a direction of travel for Lancashire?
Staff need to
know that you have hope for the future. Calm is a really understated word
KS: One of the things I’ve been thinking about is whether we look at developing a Lancashire investment bank. We have some great businesses who can maybe put into a pot and invest in businesses that aren’t doing so well, perhaps linked to Access to Finance or some banks.
SF: I’ve got a draft on my laptop of a letter to all our local MPs saying to them, ‘This is our approach in Lancashire, this is our framework and you’re going to have to step up and help us very soon. And we are going to come to you with asks, and we are going to come to you and ask you for personal support.’
They won’t be able to give us all the answers, and to some extent Lancashire’s going to have to help itself. The more we can show government that we are doing that and we need them to top up and invest in Lancashire, the better it will be taken.
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