Originally written by Rory Bennett on Small Business
One in five Britons have either started a new business since lockdown or plan to start one by the beginning of 2021.
According to Direct Line, the most popular sectors to have started a new business are IT and web design (21 per cent), engineering (14 per cent), building/property (8 per cent), education/ training (8 per cent), retail/wholesale (6 per cent) and business/management consultancy (4 per cent).
The surge to start a new business comes as people have come off furlough since lockdown, often to find themselves unemployed.
The Bank of England estimates that unemployment will spike at 2.5m by the end of this year, with the unemployment rate almost doubling to 7.5 per cent. Over 730,000 people have become unemployed since March according to Office of National Statistics.
Research suggests that young people, aged between 18-34, are hardest hit by the pandemic, but 48 per cent have become or intend to be entrepreneurs.
Of the kitchen-table entrepreneurs who have not yet started their venture, 19 per cent hope to have it up and running by the beginning of 2021.
The survey is supported by Companies House data, which showed that more than three times the average number of
Tag Archive for small business lockdown
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How to reopen your hairdressers and barbers and post lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has announced that hairdressers and barbers can reopen for business on July 4 but other beauty businesses will have to wait.
Hilary Hall, chief executive of the National Hair and Beauty Foundation applauded the decision to reopen but said it had come very late in the day.
Hall said: “We are also extremely disappointed that beauty businesses are not yet allowed to reopen, and we have always emphasised that hair and beauty should reopen at the same time.”
>See also: How to reopen your restaurant, pub or hotel post-lockdown
How to reopen your hairdressers or barbers
All salons must stick to social distancing and maintain two metres between clients, or one metre with additional precautions, such as the use of screens
Face visors must be worn by practitioners for all activities. Face coverings are not an acceptable alternative to visors, but clients or staff may choose to wear an additional face covering
No walk-ins: clients must be seen by appointment only. Salon and barbershop owners will be required to keep a temporary record of all clients and visitors for 21 days to support the NHS test-and-trace system which controls outbreaks of the virus
No food or drinks to be
Hot Business News Today
How to reopen your small business post lockdown – what we know so far
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Boris Johnson has announced the gradual unlocking of small businesses across England, as the UK emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shops reopened on June 15
Pubs, hotels and restaurants will reopen on July 4
New guidance published on June 24 details how hairdressers, hotels, pubs and other small businesses in England can reopen safely from July 4.
However, other businesses including nightclubs, casinos, indoor play areas, nail bars and beauty salons and gyms will remain shut for the time being.
Announcing the changes on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said the following venues will be able to reopen from 4 July:
Pubs, bars and restaurants but only with a table service indoors, and owners will be asked to keep contact details of customers to help with contact tracing
Hotels, holiday apartments, campsites and caravan parks but shared facilities must be cleaned properly
Theatres and music halls but they will not be allowed to hold live performances
Hair salons and barbers will be able to reopen but must have protective measures, such as visors, in place
Cinemas, museums and galleries
Funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks, amusement arcades, outdoor skating rinks and model villages
Attractions with animals, such as at zoos, aquariums, farms, safari parks and wildlife centres
The
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Only 10% of customers planning to go back to shops when they reopen
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Just 10 per cent of customers plan to go back to non-essential shops when they finally reopen on Monday, June 15.
Another 32 per cent of shoppers do plan to drift back to shops, just not right away, according to a new poll.
However, 37 per cent of customers are either planning to stay away from bricks-and-mortar shops, do all their shopping online, or are still undecided.
>See also: Tenants back to facing eviction for non-payment of rent as shops reopen
And 29 per cent of people say they plan to stay out of shops for some time, social distancing or not.
This latest poll makes depressing reading for independent retailers hoping to bounce back quickly having spent nearly three months shut due to coronavirus.
According to data platform Dynata, one third of those who plan to venture into shops would leave if social distancing measures are not followed.
And 42 per cent of Britons think it’s too early to reopen the High Street in England, with 16 to 34-year-olds believing that the Government has moved too quickly.
People in the South are more reluctant to return to the High Street than those in the North.
Of course, some independent retailers have
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Tenants back to facing eviction for non-payment of rent as shops reopen
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: The Government appears unlikely to extend tenant protection from commercial landlords who want to evict them for non-payment of rent because of Covid-19.
The business department had given shops, pubs and restaurants three months of protection from eviction for non-payment of rent during the coronavirus lockdown.
But a draft code of practice seen by the Financial Times on how landlords should treat commercial tenants as small businesses emerge from lockdown makes no mention of extending the eviction grace period.
>See also: 4 ways small shops can reinvent themselves post coronavirus
Many businesses had assumed the current eviction suspension would be extended past June 24, the next rent quarter day.
If so, many businesses could find themselves forced out of commercial premises for non-payment of rent due to Covid-19.
Instead, the code, which is voluntary, states:
Tenants should pay rent if they can, even if only partially
Landlords who are in a position to show clemency should do so
Tenants should prioritise paying service charges before rents
James Daunt, chief executive of bookshop chain Waterstones, told the FT that what is needed is statutory protection for tenants from aggressive landlords.
Daunt said: “As soon as current protections expire, I think there will be some
Hot Business News Today
How to reopen your small business post lockdown – what we know so far
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Boris Johnson has outlined the first tentative steps to reopen small business, including the phased reopening of shops and hospitality.
Shops will be able to reopen on June 1
Some hospitality services will be allowed to re-open from July 4
The government has published its document fleshing out prime minister Johnson’s nationwide address, which goes deeper into its strategy to help reopen small business.
Shops planning to reopen post June 1 could badge themselves “COVID-19 Secure” by following guidelines shortly to be published by government after consultation with business groups and others.
By July, the government would like to see remaining small businesses that have been forced to close, including hairdressers and beauty salons, pubs and hotels and cinemas also reopen.
But any phased re-opening of small businesses will be reversed if the rate of coronavirus infection creeps back upwards – as is already being seen in Germany and South Korea, which have loosened up their own lockdowns.
Reopen small business
Mr Johnson said: “We must also recognise that this campaign against the virus has come at colossal cost to our way of life. We can see it all around us in the shuttered shops and abandoned businesses and darkened
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Small businesses plea for an end to lockdown by the end of May
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Nearly two thirds (58pc) of small business owners want lockdown to wrap up by the end of May.
Buckworths, the UK’s only law firm which works with start-ups and high growth businesses, surveyed over 500 SME owners and decision makers to gauge attitudes towards the government’s coronavirus measures and the economic impact of the ongoing lockdown.
The research found that 20pc of UK SMEs in the UK will not survive another month without another boost to their cash flow. This rises to a sizeable 62pc in Northern Ireland, 31pc in the West Midlands and 30pc in the East Midlands.
Boris Johnson could be announcing his exit strategy in the next few days and urgent action is needed. Over a quarter (27pc) of the businesses surveyed don’t think that the government funding will be enough for them to survive the effects of the pandemic.
The research showed that those in more affluent areas were more optimistic about the future of their businesses – only 14pc of firms in Greater London and 13pc in the South East are expected to close down by the end of May.
Financial difficulties are being compounded by a lack of support from landlords. Almost
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Don’t count on small business customers returning post lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Many Britons say they will feel uncomfortable going to newly reopened small business once lockdown is lifted.
Gyms, pubs and bars and beauty salons can expect customers to keep staying away, with over 60 per cent of customers saying they would still avoid them.
There is better news for garden centres with 70 per cent of Britons saying they would be happy to return once they are reopened, according to a YouGov survey for BBC Newsnight.
>See also: Half a million small businesses in financial distress
Clothing stores and hairdressers will also bounce back fairly strongly, with 48 per cent of people saying they would feel comfortable returning.
Public anxiety about going back into gyms, bars and restaurants will deflate small business owners hoping that the easing of lockdown restrictions will help kickstart the economy.
How comfortable would you feel visiting these businesses post-lockdown?
Comfortable (%)Uncomfortable (%)Don’t know (%)
Garden centres70256
Hairdressers/barbers48466
Clothing stores48466
Restaurants 37576
Coffee shops36586
Pubs and bars32635
Beauty and nail salons32608
Gyms30627
Source: YouGov
“For some businesses, particularly those which involve closer contact, or those whose clientele lean towards women or the old, simply reopening the doors again may not be enough to see customers flood back,” said Chris Curtis, political research manager at YouGov.
Women stay