Kent companies which have come out stronger due to pandemic
Although the companies had great success, the pandemic has made some of them return stronger than ever across Kent due to the pandemic.
KentOnline spoke to a driving dog grooming salon, recruitment agency, family-owned craft store and commercial kitchen ventilation company about how they used the lockdown time to keep their businesses going.
Dashing Hounds, owner Kayleigh Darling
Frenzied dogs
When the lockdown forced Kayleigh Darling to close the Medway dog grooming salon, she had to look for other options.
She ended up visiting Wet Pets to turn her van into a mobile dog groomer so Dashing Hounds could still reach their customers safely.
Kayleigh added, “When people can protect themselves and not leave the house, it means they can still care for their dog without worrying about their welfare.
“It has done wonders for my business, I really enjoy it. It makes every day different, I’ll be going to different places all the time. It’s just a lot more convenient for everyone involved.”
In the Van der Dashing Hounds
After the restrictions eased, Kayleigh found that the van has helped her reach a wider customer base of people who are struggling to visit the salon – whether because they are homeworkers, the elderly, or the disabled.
She added, “I’ve seen a sharp increase in bookings. I have a lot of older customers who struggled to bring their dogs to me and then became concerned about the condition their dog was in because of me could not achieve.
“This is a lot of pressure on customers now. They just need to know when I will be ready at the door with their dog.
“I have a couple of customers who need pet taxis to bring their dog to me. This is another expense in addition to taking care of their dogs. This is another thing they don’t have to worry about now. “
Patrick Fysh, co-owner of Store 104
Save 104
A number of shops along Kent High Street have made the most of the time they’ve locked away.
In addition to opening a new floor, the family-run arts and crafts store Store 104 in Rochester has partnered with Victoria’s Café, which opened in the background.
Patrick Fysh, the co-owner of Store 104, said, “We did a really good job of collecting web orders via one-click blocking.”
But actually, with the nature of what we sell – books and thread and the goods – it really helps when people are actually able to look at them.
Save 104’s new cafe, Victoria’s, to the back of the storeSave 104’s new cafe, Victoria’s, to the back of the store
“It’s almost like we’ve just reopened. As an independent retailer, we don’t really have the ability to close, so we went the other way and got as big as possible.”
Although customers cannot sit in the lovely indoor café just yet, the courtyard outside is open for a quiet coffee.
Patrick added, “We always had a lot of people saying it was really good to have a coffee shop in this room.
“Every day we were open again, everyone absolutely loved it.
“When we get to the next phase of lockdown – May 17th – it will be very nice because people can sit down with a book or some rope and have a coffee – it just flows very well.
“We hope that in the future we will be able to hold evening events with the café that serves the refreshments. But that is of course for the future.”
Courtyard of Store 104 Victoria’s Cafe on Rochester High Street
BPHR Consultancy Limited
After Babette Powell was fired from her human resources department prior to the pandemic, she helped family and friends find their way around the new, tricky vacation schedule.
Realizing she might be charging for her expertise, she took the plunge and started her own recruitment consultancy, BPHR Consultancy Limited, in July.
The 45-year-old said: “It was very scary as we were still having a pandemic. I thought when is the right time to start a business? Why not take the plunge and see where it goes?”
“Smaller businesses that don’t typically need human resources need staff to tackle the vacation minefield and treat their employees during this difficult time.
Babette Powell, founder of BPHR Consultancy Limited, Gravesend
“The pandemic worked very well for me as I can help a wide variety of customers in different industries knowing that their processes and procedures are up to date, how to treat employees fairly to prevent them from being unfair, receive constructive dismissals, or be brought before the labor courts. “
However, Babette feels a little guilty about recovering from the problems of being locked out. She added, “I felt bad charging companies for this service, mostly because some of them had lost their livelihoods. But someone has to do it, and I’d rather me do it, so that’s a fair trial takes place.
“It is a great pleasure for me to know that I have helped companies because they have so much more to think about. I can take this stress away from them so they have fewer headaches.”
BPHR is still going strong after 10 months and with a lot more work to do, as lockdown subsides and vacation conditions change in July, the future looks bright for Babette.
Nationwide Ventiliation, based in Chatham, designs, manufactures and installs commercial kitchen ventilation systems
Nationwide ventilation
With stores closed during the lockdown along Kent’s main drag and landlords dying to fill them, many property owners are offering sustainable chain stores with amazing deals.
As a result, chains like Taco Bell and KFC looking to renovate their new locations are great business for companies like Nationwide Ventiliation that design, manufacture, and install commercial kitchen ventilation systems.
Winter is usually a slow quarter as restaurants typically don’t close over Christmas and New Years.
This year, however, the ventilation company’s sales are 70% above normal as chains use their services and existing restaurants request checkups that can be reopened after the lockdown.
Rob Terry, co-owner of Nationwide Ventilation, based in Chatham, said, “This boost may be a bolt in the pan, but then we need to look a little further down to actually expand the business horizons so we can surf on this wave – we need to make sure we are ready to absorb the next wave that comes after it.
Robert Terry, Co-Director of Nationwide Ventilation, based in Chatham
“It makes you a little uncomfortable because it’s all really good news for us – and we’re waiting for a bubble to burst.
“Obviously, I feel like the other business owners struggling out there are in trouble because when someone like KFC moves into an estate it means someone has to move out so that smaller, independent restaurants may close.
“It really is a double-edged sword because I feel sorry for the people who are actually struggling during the pandemic while we are experiencing a boom.”
However, with such a huge boost for the company, Rob hopes they can give something back to the community.
He added, “We have obviously grown massively in our sales capacity. While we can do this for a short period of time, being able to work at 110% is not a long-term strategy.
“It means we will be able to get into the job market and hopefully take in some new people who may have lost their jobs from other companies. We can call some people like this on board to try and to to attempt.” give it back a little. “
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