Originally Posted by
Smartie
I see no way how my business can survive, but I'm going to keep trying.
Spoke to the bank yesterday and they will do what they can to help and I suspect they've been heavily incentivised by the government to do so.
Obviously don't do anything dangerous or silly, but I think it's important not to give up, certainly not this early. Adapt, adjust, speak to creditors, change what you do and you might not just survive but emerge stronger. Use the downtime to do all the things you've wanted to do to improve a business but can't because customers are always there and waiting to be served.
Funnily enough I think the "local guys" will do fine as they will have the flexibility to adapt and on a personal level the public won't want to see them struggle. It's the monoliths who might struggle, anyone has has stock that is expected to arrive "next day" due to a convoluted food chain - one break in the chain due to self-isolation and the whole thing might crash down.
What I would also say re mental health is - there is very little good for your mental health about being isolated and reading bad news and that is all we are able to do right now. Set other targets and achieve them, from reading books you've always wanted to say you've read to being able to do a press up, to learning how to cook with whatever limited ingredients you can lay your hands on.
I also fear where we are going. I didn't like the Americans queuing for guns and I wonder when boredom or economic fragility might lead to social unrest. I walked to and from work yesterday (Ocean Terminal to the West End and back, 14000 steps on my Hibs FFIT pedometer) and on the way home at 8pm or so I barely passed a soul, there were no cars on the street. It was a strange apocalyptic feeling. I also don't like when I start to hear comments from Chinese officials about the virus being taken to China by the US Army, but that's yet another story...
Someone I know is a physio in NHS Fife. It's not football injuries she deals with but often stuff like helping the seriously compromised to breathe etc. She believes she is going to have to fulfil a very different role soon as an auxiliary, helping out other services on the front line. Funnily enough I have a hunch I might find myself "conscripted" into a similar role. She say at the moment is is like the calm before the storm, eerily quiet. A+E departments had one of their quietest weekends ever at the weekend as people aren't out doing the silly stuff they normally do, but they all know it is all about to change. At least we have been able to get some sort of preparation in before the inevitable hits.
Interesting times, but dwelling on it mentally is not going to be good for any of us. I'd like some proper advice about how we deal with the inevitable consequences.