Hiring & Growth
Supporting Local Business #lovelocal
April 24, 2020
Here at FlexiTime we’ve always been big supporters of local NZ business. And given the economic situation in the wake of the COVID-19 response we’re committed to doubling down on that and encouraging others to do the same.
When we’re in the office in normal times we regularly enjoy delicious goods from some of our fantastic customers - coffee beans from Flight Coffee, beer from Panhead and pizza from Tommy Millions.
We get amazing farm fresh milk in glass bottles delivered by Eketahuna Country Meats. We head down to the waterfront once a week for a social football game run by the team at Wellington Indoor Sports.
We get our branded t-shirts printed by a long time customer - Brazen Clothing; all of our other printing is beautifully done by the team at Colourcraft. And we make a point of frequenting many of the great bars and cafes in central Wellington.
The new reality
Unfortunately, like so many other things, all of that is on hold while the country responds to the COVID-19 crisis. Many businesses are suffering and their owners are wondering what the months and years ahead will look like, if they make it that far. Hundreds of thousands of employees are facing uncertain futures as the whole country waits to see how everything pans out.
However, if there’s one good thing that has come out of this whole situation it has been the growing movement in the community to support and promote small, local businesses as much as possible.
During Alert Level 4 lockdown those businesses lucky enough to continue trading have rapidly scaled up their ability to deliver goods to households around the country. There have been numerous technology and grass roots initiatives pop up in a matter of weeks to support and promote these companies.
The joy of shopping online for local goods
Since we’ve been stuck at home, various members of the FlexiTime team have been sampling home-delivered delights from a host of great companies, including:
Parrotdog (Yeah, we like beer 🍺)
Once we hit Alert Level 3 from 28 April, thousands more businesses and employees in industries like hospitality and retail will be able to begin limited operations again - if they can support deliveries or contactless click and collect.
There are still plenty of restrictions that will make things difficult for them, but they’ll be doing their utmost to get up and running again and keep their staff in jobs. Now is the time to get behind them and help them through probably the toughest trading conditions they’ll ever face.
Keen to do your bit?
There are so many great initiatives that have been helping amplify the reach of local independent businesses since the COVID-19 crisis began. Here are some of our favourites:
SOSBusiness - Customers can buy vouchers for their favourite local businesses to redeem when they’re back up and running. This keeps some cash coming in to help those businesses out while they get set up online or are able to reopen.
DeliverEat - A directory of independent Kiwi businesses delivering during the COVID-19 lockdown. As of now there are 778 businesses across 13 categories so chances are you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for!
Regulr is a smartphone app that connects hospo businesses and their customers. Our mates at posBoss have made Regulr free to their point of sale customers during the COVID-19 outbreak to manage contactless deliveries.
The Marketplace - The team at Unleashed Software have created an online marketplace to help their small business clients that don’t have a major online presence reach new customers when they need them most.
So, when takeaways are available again from next week, consider choosing DeliverEasy to bring them to your door. When you next need to grab some milk and bread, stop in at your local dairy on your way home. When you’re buying clothes or books, check out the retailers in your nearest town before turning to the global ecommerce giants.
Our local businesses need us more than ever. So stay home, save lives and buy New Zealand made to help keep Kiwis in work.
