Less than one year in her new storefront and at the height of profitability with her fledgling business, which was growing in popularity month by month, the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped Cecile Bethel – the owner of event company The Balloon People – right in her tracks.
She is among the thousands of small business owners now grappling with maintaining their overhead obligations without earning any income, since the prime minister announced a state of emergency and mandated all non-essential businesses cease operating.
“For me, personally, it has been a huge hit. With the events that I had previously, of course those were all canceled and when I say canceled, it’s to the extent that when this is over, it’s not like they can be postponed, they are actually canceled,” Bethel told Guardian Business.
“Having this new storefront, I just started with my landlord last July and once the order was given on the 17th, on the 18th, it was doors closed, I can’t do anything.”
Asked whether she believes her landlord would exercise some leniency and come to an arrangement with her during this time, Bethel said, “No, my landlord didn’t wink an eye. It’s only been a month, though. I said the fact that he didn’t is an indication to me that he needs his rent. My sister said to me, ‘Aren’t you going to ask him about it?’ She said, ‘He knows what’s happening, so he shouldn’t be expecting the entire rent.’
“And I said, you know when I signed that contract, that contract didn’t say in the event that there’s a pandemic you don’t have to pay the rent, or you don’t have to pay me a portion of the rent. The contract said ‘this is what your rent is and this is what you would be expected to pay’.”
The prime minister announced two weeks ago that the government was exploring rental assistance for people impacted by the pandemic, but has not made any further announcements on the issue.
With just three employees at the time the emergency order came into action, Bethel said she tried to keep them on for as long as possible, but two weeks into the lockdown she decided to help them prepare their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefit applications.
She said she also took advantage of some of the government’s initiatives to assist small businesses – like its Business Continuity program for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises – that have been adversely impacted by the emergency lockdown measure.
“I applied for the assistance with the SBDC (Small Business Development Centre). I didn’t do the payroll one, because I couldn’t fathom how that one was going to be effective,” she said.
What has been an especially difficult pill for Bethel to swallow is turning down income despite requests from customers.
“I have not been able to do anything in terms of being able to service customers. Not that I have not had calls, mind you. I continue to get calls. Someone called the other day wanting to know if I can prepare a bouquet for them or something. I did say, ‘No, I’m sorry I can’t,’ out of an abundance of caution. On the one hand, because of the legislation and on the other hand because I don’t want to spread anything, I don’t want to have that on my conscience.
“I’m using that time, instead, to become involved in building my business to the extent where one of the things we’re doing is working on our website. It’s something that’s been outstanding for a long time. We’re building it out so that it can offer an e-commerce section, so people can do online shopping. That’s the good this downtime is providing for us.
“And, also, I’m looking at honing my skills. Giving myself the opportunity to look at and do different things that keep me on the cutting edge and continually advancing in the industry. So, the downtime has been there, but I’ve sought to use it productively.”
The prime minister has said the current 24-hour curfew and weekend lockdowns will end on April 30, however, it is unclear if the measures will be extended beyond that time.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of the economy and her own business, Bethel said she’s looking forward to bringing smiles to the faces of her customers again someday.
“I always try to be an optimist. And as an optimist what I see is, maybe not immediately will I be able to generate the kind of business I had once before but I think people are hungry for and always want to celebrate occasions. The birthdays are still going to be there, it’s just not going to be as lavish of a birthday party that they used to have. Graduations will always be there,” she said.
“People like to celebrate, and that’s what life is all about. If you can’t celebrate with your family, with your friends, then what is there to life? And my role in what I do is to help people to celebrate and to provide what it takes to put a little color into what it is that they’re doing.
“I will still be able to rebound. We’re not an essential business; you don’t have to pay me, you don’t have to take money out of your budget to have a party. It’s something that you chose to do, so I think in that manner, it’s going to come back.”
• Note: This is the first in a series of articles highlighting how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted small businesses in The Bahamas.
The post COVID-19 small business profile: The Balloon People appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/23/covid-19-small-business-profile-the-balloon-people/
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