We Can Get Through This
As we get to grips with the sheer scale of the Coronavirus pandemic it’s a difficult time to answer even the simplest questions about your business never mind the big ones.
What do we do next in these unbelievably difficult and challenging times?
Well, whilst nobody has all or any of the answers we can certainly start by prioritising some things
Top of the list must be to focus on the safety of our families and loved ones. The instructions from the government are clear – STAY AT HOME. If we do that we can look after those closest to us. But we also need to think beyond that, the impact of what we do to others – it’s simple - we must take total responsibility for our actions and the impact they can have on other people.
As a business owner, I have a further responsibility, the safety and wellbeing of my employees and here at Morre Interiors Limited we take that responsibility very seriously. All my staff are working from home and we have paused all ongoing fit-out and refurbishment projects until it is safe for them to resume.
The one thing this situation does give me is a bit more thinking time than I am used to so I’m determined to make the most of this opportunity in both personal and business terms.
Right now, I’m sitting at home reflecting on my business and some of the challenges we face:
What’s next?
What is the Global impact likely to be!
I’m thinking about the immediate consequences of this crisis on me, my business, my industry and please excuse any perceived drama, on my country.
I must admit that consolidation continually comes to my mind - sit tight, do the right thing and Morre Interiors as well as thousands of other companies in the UK can come out of this in a good place.
But to quote Churchill “when you are going through hell don’t stop, KEEP GOING”
These brave words were spoken in a different time but still remain enormously relevant today. Business is our livelihood and it needs to move forward. If not it will surely breed stagnation and eventual failure & collapse.
This might seem a slightly irrelevant BLOG to write at this time given the situation but sooner or later, once the initial shock has diminished we will start thinking clearly again and hopefully decide we must “push-on”
In my world of London office refits and refurbishments my clients will be challenging themselves with their own questions:
I am an occupier of office space and my lease is up soon…
My business was expanding before COVID-19 will it continue to do in these uncertain times?
I was planning on opening a second office…
How many of my staff will want to continue to work from home?
Well I believe very clearly that if we all stand still it makes recovery very difficult and the country as a whole will stand still.
Adversity will eventually throw up new opportunities for businesses as well as changing what we see as the norm.
Working from home
Face to face meetings
Business travel
These are just some of the areas of our working lives that may never be the same again as we adapt to life after the virus (more on that in another Blog).
The opportunity will be to move our businesses forward, in my world that might be negotiating better lease agreements, demand a higher level of service from landlords, seeking out better, more attractive financial solutions.
At Morre Interiors have always put our clients first – it’s core to how we work and at the heart of every project we work on. Why wouldn’t it be? - without clients we have nothing, no business.
So for us, as far as we can, its business as usual, going “beyond the call of duty” to help our clients, evaluate their specific needs both immediate & long term. Helping them find the most relevant, workable and the safest solutions to their challenges.
We look forward to advising you correctly from our first engagement through to the completion of any project - after all we want you to succeed and come back to us again and again and again.
Please stay safe
Many thanks
John Morrell