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COVID-19 & your Business

Sharing practical hints, tips & links to support your business through COVID-19

We know that the COVID-19 crisis is presenting immediate and severe financial challenges for businesses so we have put together some practical hints, tips, supports and links to help you along the way.

Don’t panic, take care of yourself, and keep calm and make the necessary changes now: 

  • Talk to your bank – Take immediate steps to manage your cashflow
  • Make a three-month financial plan… look at ways you can cut costs
  • Use available government supports for working capital
  • Get advice from your accountant
  • Check your insurance cover
  • Engage with Revenue
  • Tap into resources provided by government and financial institutions
  • Familiarise yourself self-employed benefits
  • Find the opportunities & new ways to connect with your customers or clients
  • If your business is affected by COVID-19, don’t forget to update your Google My Business profile. Keep your customers up to date! There is a support page here

Remember to remain positive and take a look at: 

  • Reassess priorities – Take a long look at your existing business model and make some notes. When you get back to business can you change anything or do some things differently. Look at the things you wanted to change but never had the time. Most of these adjustments can be implemented with the support and buy-in. Keep revising the list and scope out your plan.
  • Do the things you’ve never had time to do – Now is also the time to get the advice/assistance of experts in whatever area you need. If you have time others do too and they will be available to share ideas and concepts with you. Decide who you want to talk to, contact and engage with.
  • Be enterprising – Ideas don’t cost much and yet they are priceless, think of ways to change the norm. It was your innovation and enterprise that made the business, now look at the business with a fresh pair of eyes. Think about marketing, promotions, getting those customers back and keeping them and growing steadily.
  • Don’t sweat about the small stuff – You just have to know the right person/Agency to talk to. Everyone is starting at exactly the same point with the same challenges and reservations. Don’t worry about the little things, Focus on the plan.
  • Look at ways to upskill yourself and your team – Now is your time to look at online tuition, be that with someone local or regularised courses that appear online now. Think about the skills you need – invest in yourself, your team for the future.
  • Declutter – Clean out the old way of thinking, the premises, the street in front of your business, the constant onslaught on line, Think about working smarter with different priorities.

Tralee Chamber develops ‘Step Back, Step Up, Step In’ Initiative 

  • STEP BACK: Redouble your efforts as a company to ensure you are adhering to the guidelines. Don’t relax, don’t cut corners, review your policies, your PPE stocks and your own procedures, to ensure they are maintained every single day. Ensure full compliance from all of your staff and customers – and make it part of your daily routine to check everything yourself directly!
  • STEP UP: Having now, in most cases operated for a while with the guidelines set out, you may have seen better ways to ensure compliance, or perhaps there may be practical solutions that you have put in place or a trusted PPE supplier you have found, that works for your business that may benefit others. We ask you to implement these improved measures and we also ask you to share them with us here in Tralee Chamber so that we can help inform other businesses and key stakeholders/agencies in your sector.
  • STEP IN: If you are aware of another business who is finding it difficult to maintain compliance with the guidelines, step in to support them. There is no blame, we are all learning how to cope with this new way of operating our businesses. Businesses and business owners truly are in this together. If you can’t directly help them, ask them to contact us in Tralee Chamber and we will refer them to a similar business in the county who can help them or to an appropriate training service to assist them.

Kerry, comparably, is a safe county. Continue to urge people to enjoy our towns and visit our county, but let us keep it safe by playing our part as business owners.

Return to Work Safely Protocol

The Return to Work Safely Protocol is designed to support employers and workers to put measures in place that will prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, when the economy begins to slowly open up, following the temporary closure of most businesses during the worst phase of the current pandemic. Download the Return to Work Safely Protocol here.

Return to Work Safely templates and checklists

The HSA COVID-19 checklists and templates, based on the Protocol, have been prepared to help employers, business owners and managers to get their business up and running again and to inform workers about what they need to do to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Templates

Employer Checklists   

Employee Checklist

Checklist 6: Workers

Worker Representative(s) Checklist

Checklist 7: Worker Representative(s) Checklist

Further information can be found at www.Gov.ie, www.hse.ie, www.hpsc.ie and www.hsa.ie

Please scroll down the page to access more news, resources and support links.

Business Financial Supports

There is a wide range of financial supports and guidance available to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Read more here.

Business Continuity Planning 

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has created a user-friendly checklist identifies a range of issues for enterprise to consider in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. You can download the documents here.

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland is working with all government stakeholders to ensure that businesses are prepared and informed on the most up-to-date advice and supports available. Read more here.

Local Enterprise Office

Local Enterprise Offices can offer other supports that can help your business respond. These include:

  1. The new Business Continuity Voucher. Read more and apply here.
  2. New COVID-19 Business Loan. Read more here.
  3. Mentoring. Read more here.
  4. Trading Online Voucher Scheme. Read more here.
  5. LEAN for Micro. Read more here.
  6. LEO Financial Supports. Read more here.

Fáilte Ireland COVID-19 Support Hub Update

As the COVID-19 crisis rapidly evolves, Fáilte Ireland is regularly updating their online support hub with new supports and expert guidance to meet the immediate and urgent needs of tourism and hospitality businesses.

Webinars for Irish Companies

Gearoid Kearney CEO of myAccessHub has compiled a list of Webinars that are relevant to companies in Ireland. They include:

  1. Keeping your team connected and healthy while working…
  2. Coronavirus COVID-19: Webinar on Irish employment law issues
  3. Leading Through Times of Change: A Webinar Series
  4. Remote working used to be a luxury, now it’s a necessity
  5. Startups — Managing in this Crisis

An updated list of Webinars is available here.

A guide to remote working through the COVID-19 outbreak

Remote working is the new norm. Read a guide here.

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Information 

Eligible self-employed people can access to the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Read more here.

What Killorglin.ie is doing to help

We’ve have set up a dedicated website page to share the latest #coronavirus updates in one place..from factual @HSELive guidelines to how our local community can come together to support neighbours & local businesses. Please click here to access the page. We will be continually updating our social accounts with the ways in which the community are coming together and responding to the crisis so please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Launched Shop Local Safely Campaign 

We have reached out to the Killorglin community and highlighted that as customers we all play a vital role in helping local businesses survive. Here’s what we have asked:

  • Order take-out or delivery (if they offer it)
  • Buying gift cards for future use
  • Prepaying for future appointments in the services sector like a barber, hair or beauty salon
  • Buy a product or service from a local retailer or service provider online
  • Utilise our comprehensive business directory and map when searching for a local service. Click here to view.

Please feel free to utilise our comprehensive business directory when searching for a local service here.

Stay Safe!

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