Home – New › Forums › Wellbeing & balance › What’s your biggest worry right now?
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July 16, 2020 at 3:53 am #1000268Up::0
Troubling statistics have emerged from MYOB revealing 70% of Australian small business owners are struggling with COVID-related stress. And Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell has warned the community to “look after themselves”.
How are you feeling right now? What’s the biggest challenge?
July 16, 2020 at 5:26 am #1223641Up::0What a great, and topical question…
To be completely honest, and feeling rather exhausted which leads into the next question.. Our biggest challenge is aligning ourselves with the right customer.
Our goal is to always recruit and work with clients that will bring a mutually beneficial long term outcome, although we have found in todays climate that many other businesses (or read that as our potential clients) are trying to pass on their stressors to others and wash their hands a little of some things. This has a two fold issue, which is where our challenge in aligning with appropriate clients comes in, of being both an overflow and emergency resource along with having clients with unrealistic expectations in todays climate.
Whilst we work closely with all our customers, for us it is about who gets onto that list and how we best use our resources with.
You Lucy?
Jason
Jason Ramage | Lucas Arthur Pty Ltd | E: hello@lucasarthur.net.au P: 61 3 8324 0344 M: 61 412 244 888July 16, 2020 at 10:39 pm #1223642Up::0Hi Jason,
Thanks for such a thoughtful reply. I am sorry to hear you are exhausted although that is completely understandable (to say the least). I really like what you’ve said about aligning the right customer – such an important consideration.
Listening to lots of the community over the last couple of weeks I think there is a general sense of trying to “make space” and by that I mean mental space to look at what has changed in response to COVID and trying to make time to adapt to that.
From my point of view the stress that comes from being a challenging circumstance can threaten that mental space. As a community we were already among the most likely to suffer burnout in response to our work.
July 17, 2020 at 12:12 am #1223643Up::0We have done a lot of checking in with our customers.
I am pretty sure, one who had to close in March or early April paid her last invoice with funds probably borrowed from parents.
Another, with a business of over 30 years standing had to close and didn’t know how they would survive.
I also called a supplier who was on the precipice to let them know of the QLD Govt loan scheme.
Recurring themes around the calls were:
Gratitude for calling in and gratitude for (us) being on the front line.
Stress around the ability for the business to survive,
Stress around being able to support staff.
Supporting staff came through very strongly as the theme that had people struggling the most.
July 21, 2020 at 4:39 am #1223644Up::0I think we all feel the dread of Lockdown #2 spreading to our area (unless you are in Vic then you are in the middle of it already). Turns out the light at the end of the tunnel was indeed the COVD train coming around again
As you say it is easy to fall into the struggle of being tired of the monotony.
The business pressures for some have been alleviated temporarily by the govt measures – but Sept/Oct will be difficult when some of the measures finish up
Every small business owner has to adapt to change – it just doesn’t usually come this fast. That said I think a lot of the changes and attitudes are here to stay.
For me the struggle over the last 6 months have mostly been in helping customers deal with the devastating bushfires. Many of them feel a bit forgotten now but the struggle to recover and rebuild is very real for many. Total loss claims were paid out quickly but many substantial claims are still ongoing over 6 months later – and will be for another 6 months. COVID hasn’t helped with this that’s for sure.
Here is a thought for you to take forward from A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.July 21, 2020 at 6:41 am #1223645Up::0MattDell, post: 270350, member: 6982 wrote:Total loss claims were paid out quickly but many substantial claims are still ongoing over 6 months later – and will be for another 6 months. COVID hasn’t helped with this that’s for sure.Matt how do you feel about your own industry knowing, that in a lot of the cases (I know of at least 7), where it is the insurance company causing the additional pain in not settling many of the substantial claims. My faith in the insurance industry was low, but hearing some of the horror stories, just adds to the pain.
July 21, 2020 at 7:00 am #1223646Up::0Hi Bert
Unfortunately the stakes are very high in insurance and of course the consequences are massive. I won’t pretend that no insurer is ever in the wrong – of course there are errors. Have you ever heard stories of poor tradesman in your industry? I bet you have.
Given about 2 million households were effected by the fires of course there are issues. But the vast majority of cases are handled well and insurance has allowed those people to move on with their lives. In my experience any claims which come into ‘dispute’ there is a disconnect between expectation and reality. Maybe that miscommunication sits more with the insurer, but often it is more with the client – what they thought they had they didn’t have. Often this comes about when the policies are taken out over the internet with no real discussion or proper advice (a model I am glad to say I don’t work with)
The industry is also highly regulated and there are avenues to appeal including to the Ombudsman etc.
Just don’t believe everything you see on the sensationalist media.
Not every insurer is hard to deal with or shonky I promiseJuly 22, 2020 at 1:04 am #1223647Up::0MattDell, post: 270350, member: 6982 wrote:I think we all feel the dread of Lockdown #2 spreading to our area (unless you are in Vic then you are in the middle of it already). Turns out the light at the end of the tunnel was indeed the COVD train coming around again
As you say it is easy to fall into the struggle of being tired of the monotony.
The business pressures for some have been alleviated temporarily by the govt measures – but Sept/Oct will be difficult when some of the measures finish up
Every small business owner has to adapt to change – it just doesn’t usually come this fast. That said I think a lot of the changes and attitudes are here to stay.
For me the struggle over the last 6 months have mostly been in helping customers deal with the devastating bushfires. Many of them feel a bit forgotten now but the struggle to recover and rebuild is very real for many. Total loss claims were paid out quickly but many substantial claims are still ongoing over 6 months later – and will be for another 6 months. COVID hasn’t helped with this that’s for sure.
Here is a thought for you to take forward from A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.Fabulous quote, Matt! Thank you for sharing your experiences, too. So hard to read about the bushfire impacted as well – a terrible double whammy.
July 22, 2020 at 2:43 am #1223648Up::0Lucy Kippist, post: 270368, member: 98720 wrote:Thank you for sharing your experiences, too. So hard to read about the bushfire impacted as well – a terrible double whammy. Thanks Lucy – yes in my neck of the woods fires are still a bigger worry than COVID for many. Challenging times but opportunity knocks, even (or especially) when we aren’t ready for itAugust 15, 2020 at 6:24 am #1223649Up::0One of the nicest things that have come out of lockdown that those in the Cleaning industry the small or Soloist business are actually helping each other.
We introduced this idea back in 2008, but only the carpet cleaners took it up.
Now I’m seeing commercial cleaners doing the same thing especially when it comes to decontamination of offices.
I’m hoping this will remain after CovidJuly 9, 2021 at 7:53 pm #1228676November 11, 2021 at 4:22 am #1232131Up::0Of course, small business suffers, big business is trying to float, but it’s not easy for them either, for example, chain stores, the big ones. They are closed for a while because of the large area. And they are not profitable, because you have to pay rent, sometimes it happens of course that it is their premises, but taxes must also be paid.
January 28, 2022 at 10:45 pm #1234101Up::0I am concerned about the political situation. Politicians play our countries for money, while ordinary people suffer
My dream has come true! And I'm finally enjoying life. And you start to rest and rejoice. Find your hobby. Get More Info .August 11, 2022 at 3:41 am #1238135 -
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