By Team Startupanz
Last night’s storm shook up all of Auckland and has rendered over 100,000 households without power. More showers and strong winds are expected in North Island in the days to come.
If you are a startup or small business owner trying to keep the lights on for your employees and customers, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Migrate your staff to a library or use a coworking space: There are ample number of cowering spaces, coffee houses, libraries or even colleges where you can migrate your staff to for a few days, if you are running a digital business and there is an outage at office. If you are an offline business owner, now is the time to spring up in action and help your customers in need.
2. Charge Up: Make sure you charge your laptops, power banks, phones and extra batteries in order to keep the lights on. Whenever you find a coffee shop or workspace, rush to the seat with a power socket.
3. Take care of your staff: In case the staff feels comfy, to stay at your office, than go home to darkness and storm, make sure you arrange a few mattresses and pillows for a good night’s sleep. It will go a long way in team building and may even be cheaper than throwing an expensive party, for team cohesiveness.
4. Stock up food & gas: You can’t work on an empty stomach. With the cold and rain putting a chill down your spine, make sure to stock up food from the nearest supermarket. And some wine to lighten up the mood, in case the staff plans to stay back. In case your electric stove is out be sure to buy a camping stove and stock some gas.
5. Stay indoors & use apps: If it’s unsafe to go out, with no public transport, it’s better to stay back and work from home. Now is the time when its right to bring out those apps such as Zomato and UberEats.
6. Customer Loyalty: If you are running a small business servicing food, beer or a carpentry or property service, now is the time to grab some new customers and offer them discounts. Fixing a roof for cheap, or serving discounted food to people, will go a long way in grabbing loyalty from customers.
7. Be a Good Samaritan: If you run a business that’s heavily dependent upon electricity, it may be better to take a day off. Instead gather the employees, to do some samaritan work, such as clearing the streets of rubbish or fixing your elderly neighbor’s roof or bringing them groceries. The collective work will also result in team cohesiveness and build a socially good brand.
feedback: connect@startupanz.com
(Photo courtesy: Frederick James)
