small business

Like many businesses, we felt the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. While many arboriculture businesses worked on throughout full lockdown, we decided to close over the peak period of the virus in April/ May 2020 in line with the Arboricultural Association guidance. This presented a few challenges for us.

At the beginning of 2020 we had a clear, set of goals in mind for #RiverbankTreeSurgeons. We wanted to expand into other areas of work. We also wanted to build on the sales and client base we had established in 2019. Training courses were put on hold (some still are). The search for another subcontractor to add to our team was put on hold. Six weeks-worth of booked jobs, all postponed. However, it is of the utmost importance for us to act with integrity throughout  the pandemic. Nothing is more important to us than safety in the work we carry out and that means working to safeguard the health of our clients, our team, and the wider public as we go about our business.

During lockdown we worked on what we could; the boring admin stuff of accounts, finances, and staying abreast with the latest guidelines. We also kept in contact with all of our clients who had jobs booked in to keep them updated as to when we hoped to carry out the work. Out of everyone who had booked with us prior to lockdown, we only had one cancellation and for that, we are very grateful.

Now, we are able to carry out our work in line with the “new normal”.  We are lucky that our work is all outdoors which makes social distancing easier. All of our bookkeeping is electronic which allows our clients to view and pay for their services in a contactless way (we are still in a position to accept cash however we respectfully ask this is kept to a minimum to cut back on bank visits and the handling of cash.) We have adopted a continuous Covid Risk Assessment for our team, stocked the vehicles with masks, hand-sanitizing gel, and antibacterial cleaning products to disinfect equipment after use.

Since the easing of lockdown we are happy that Nick has been able to complete his IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) training, we have welcomed a new member to #RiverbankTreeSurgeons, networked with local businesses, secured further training for our groundwork team, and carried out work as recommended in our tree surveys from 2019.

We are preparing for the cooler months; and now that we are essentially having to live with coronavirus and socially distance until it retreats, more and more people are spending an increased amount of time outdoors. We ourselves have decided to host a small, family outdoor party for our son’s birthday in light of the new restrictions announced. We expect demand for maintained gardens, firewood, and festive outdoor spaces and we are looking to adapt our business to accommodate this as private garden clients make up the largest proportion of our work. We would love to hear from you guys; as always advice and quotes are free of charge and we can be contacted anytime.

Stay safe out there!

Best wishes,

Nick and Emma

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