COVID's Impact on Local Businesses
BY DIVYA PRASATH '23
During a time when every individual is concerned with their own well-being, local business owners have given special attention to their stores. According to the Acton government, profits have rapidly declined, losses ranging anywhere between 15 to 66 percent. Additionally, COVID-19 has caused a severe drop in customers, forcing many shops to shut down. Further, as restrictions loosened and the possibility of reopening hung in the air, many still had no system for safer operation, but they persisted. The pandemic has pushed store owners to adapt their normal work routine to continue operation while accommodating for customers needs.
To gather information on the specific impacts of COVID-19, I interviewed Dawn Willis—the owner of Great Spaces, a local kitchen and bath remodeling and furnishing business. She stated that “when COVID first hit, the first challenge was to figure out how to complete jobs and projects that have already been started so that people’s homes wouldn’t be left in a state of upheaval.” Like most establishments faced with similar problems, she prioritized pending projects before taking on new projects to keep her business running.
In their efforts to restructure their way of work and organization, Great Spaces has implemented efficient strategies that suit their current needs. They divided their schedule into shorter but reasonable blocks and sealed off the areas they were working on to maintain social distancing. Fortunately, Ms. Willis expects that some strategies will be favorable in the long run. Great Spaces can now get information to clients virtually and send them samples of a product they might like. Moreover, according to Mrs. Willis, “an added bonus was that they were able to create a separate section of the business that was more for getting readily-available products to clients, so that if desired, they could furnish something themselves rather than have employees go to their home.”
Although COVID harshly impacted small businesses everywhere, John Raguin, the local store owner of Hit the Net Sports and a government representative, notes that not all stores were equally affected. “Most local retail businesses and restaurants have been hit hard by COVID,” he conveyed, as they still suffer “months after they have reopened due to some distancing or capacity constraints as well as other restrictions.” Fortunately, there are exceptions to this downward trend. Hardware, grocery, and book stores were generally impacted less, which is a natural result of the dramatic increase in people staying at home.
Different financial situations varied depending on the type of business involved. In general, companies now encourage more flexible schedules and spread out shifts for employees. Along with the general rules of keeping a clean and safe workspace and practicing social distancing, owners are taking further measures specific to their business. For instance, the majority of local restaurants closed indoor dining rooms at the beginning of the pandemic, supporting their customers instead by offering takeout orders and delivery. Now, many restaurants have opened up outdoor dining places—making sure to clean them frequently—enforcing social distancing, and maximum capacity restrictions.
In addition to individual managements' beneficial innovation, the Acton-Boxborough town government has stepped in to help. John Benson, a member involved in the Small Business Grant Program, expressed that the members of the town government “were aware of the anxieties and uncertainties experienced by residents due to COVID.” The Small Business Grant Program utilized the town’s CARES fund, allocating money to various small businesses.
Overall, the disheartening circumstances following the pandemic induced many hardships for stores and restaurants, some of which had to completely restructure their methods of work. But there have been some upsides to these difficulties as well. The generous understanding and cooperation from clients and employees, regarding the various changes that took place, “helped to form a greater community relationship” according to Ms. Willis. Moreover, pushed by the pandemic, stores have created new strategies that will improve their operation as a whole. Businesses have gone through many struggles but have been able to pull through and grow, providing a silver lining to the precariousness and unpredictability of the situation.
To gather information on the specific impacts of COVID-19, I interviewed Dawn Willis—the owner of Great Spaces, a local kitchen and bath remodeling and furnishing business. She stated that “when COVID first hit, the first challenge was to figure out how to complete jobs and projects that have already been started so that people’s homes wouldn’t be left in a state of upheaval.” Like most establishments faced with similar problems, she prioritized pending projects before taking on new projects to keep her business running.
In their efforts to restructure their way of work and organization, Great Spaces has implemented efficient strategies that suit their current needs. They divided their schedule into shorter but reasonable blocks and sealed off the areas they were working on to maintain social distancing. Fortunately, Ms. Willis expects that some strategies will be favorable in the long run. Great Spaces can now get information to clients virtually and send them samples of a product they might like. Moreover, according to Mrs. Willis, “an added bonus was that they were able to create a separate section of the business that was more for getting readily-available products to clients, so that if desired, they could furnish something themselves rather than have employees go to their home.”
Although COVID harshly impacted small businesses everywhere, John Raguin, the local store owner of Hit the Net Sports and a government representative, notes that not all stores were equally affected. “Most local retail businesses and restaurants have been hit hard by COVID,” he conveyed, as they still suffer “months after they have reopened due to some distancing or capacity constraints as well as other restrictions.” Fortunately, there are exceptions to this downward trend. Hardware, grocery, and book stores were generally impacted less, which is a natural result of the dramatic increase in people staying at home.
Different financial situations varied depending on the type of business involved. In general, companies now encourage more flexible schedules and spread out shifts for employees. Along with the general rules of keeping a clean and safe workspace and practicing social distancing, owners are taking further measures specific to their business. For instance, the majority of local restaurants closed indoor dining rooms at the beginning of the pandemic, supporting their customers instead by offering takeout orders and delivery. Now, many restaurants have opened up outdoor dining places—making sure to clean them frequently—enforcing social distancing, and maximum capacity restrictions.
In addition to individual managements' beneficial innovation, the Acton-Boxborough town government has stepped in to help. John Benson, a member involved in the Small Business Grant Program, expressed that the members of the town government “were aware of the anxieties and uncertainties experienced by residents due to COVID.” The Small Business Grant Program utilized the town’s CARES fund, allocating money to various small businesses.
Overall, the disheartening circumstances following the pandemic induced many hardships for stores and restaurants, some of which had to completely restructure their methods of work. But there have been some upsides to these difficulties as well. The generous understanding and cooperation from clients and employees, regarding the various changes that took place, “helped to form a greater community relationship” according to Ms. Willis. Moreover, pushed by the pandemic, stores have created new strategies that will improve their operation as a whole. Businesses have gone through many struggles but have been able to pull through and grow, providing a silver lining to the precariousness and unpredictability of the situation.