Coronavirus and it's impact on small independent businesses: Red Goat Climbing Company.

I have recently interviewed Nikki May and Adam Exley, the Managing Directors of the Red Goat Climbing Company based in York to understand how the coronavirus has impacted their business during the current situation and in the future.

Red Goat Climbing Company specialise in bouldering and free climbing for all ages in the centre of York. Since their creation, they have developed a strong and loyal customer base allowing them to continuously grow their business. Like many other businesses in the UK the lockdown has impacted their growth hopes and in order for them to continue to grow, they must adapt their business to change.

Question 1: How have you adapted your business to the current situation?

"The Coronavirus has given us the opportunity to rebuild all the original walls. We would never have been able to do this had we not been shut for 3 months. We have furloughed all staff apart from Adam and 2 staff members who are helping with the build. We put something on the website that we are shut and a link to covid 19 info. We don’t sell anything online and lots of people told us they wanted to carry on paying monthly but we didn’t want to do that so we froze everyone’s membership. We also had people asking to buy gift cards and we didn’t want to do this either. We had saved a lot of money over the last couple of years to buy the front of the building, so we have used this for mortgages, tax bills, business rates, wages etc. Adam has removed climbing walls and opened up the centre to create more space for when we reopen. We have taken out the physio room and back kitchen to put in a pizza oven and more spread out seating. We have put a long sink (2metres) with taps either side next to the bar to make sure people are washing hands as they enter and we will be putting in chalk pumps for liquid chalk as it is 70% alcohol so people can climb with extra protection."

My thoughts: It's amazing to see that Nikki and Adam have thrived under lockdown by adapting their business so that when it opens, it is safe for their customers to continue climbing. Adding seating and a pizza oven will allow them to diversify their business by having another area of revenue in addition to climbing.

Question 2: How has the pandemic impacted your business and the climbing industry now and in the future?

"The indoor climbing industry is all about touching holds that everybody else has touched so the impact is quite big. We (climbing industry) have all been shut for 9 weeks and I think we will be one of the last to reopen. Climbing was going to be in the olympics for the first time in 2020 so it’s a bit of a blow in that respect as it would have given all climbing walls more footfall. It should happen in 2021 so not all bad. I have no idea how it will be affected in the future."

My thoughts: I didn't know that indoor climbing would be in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which Nikki and Adam beleive that it would be highly useful for the indoor climbing industry. It's dissappointing for Red Goat Climbing because it could've increased customers and awareness of the business. But when the Olympics run next year, indoor climbing will feature and will likely benefit the indoor climbing industry in 2021.

Question 3: What's your biggest concern and benefit of re-opening?

"The biggest concern about reopening is how we change our business to accommodate people in a safe way. Sometimes we can have 120 people in at one time. We have to find a way of adapting and getting people to book in in a different way and have a new maximum amount of people all social distancing. We will have to put in time limits and a new book in advance service. The benefit of reopening is people getting to see the new centre and a much more basic service (no kids clubs or group bookings) which will mean less staff and possibly easier to run."

My thoughts: It is clear that Nikki and Adam see the positives and negatives of opening the business. It seems that changing their business to accomodate people in a safe way is a very difficult managerial step that they must encounter. This is something that they have never experienced before which means that they are in deep waters but if they successfully adapt then other changes will be easier to adapt to. The positives of possibly making it easier to run will be a huge benefit because they want to provide a fun and professional experience for their customers and if they are less stressed than before then this will help them to focus even more on the customers' experience.

Question 4: How will your loyal and potential customers react to your re-opening?

"I think a bit of both. Some people are driving past already just to get a look and some people won’t come back from fear of the virus."

My thoughts: The response indicates that some customers are missing the business by checking up on them which suggests that when they open again, they will not see a dramatic loss of customers. A suggestion is that they could get a hold of their current loyal customers and get an understanding on when the would plan on coming back. This can help Nikki and Adam plan for re-opening by gauging what equipment they need and how to plan for the numbers of people.

Question 5: How long do you think it will take to get back to normal for your business?

"I’m not sure how long it will take to get back to normal it will all depend on if the virus disappears altogether or if we get a second wave. If we get a second wave in winter then I think we will be opening and closing a lot."

My thoughts: It is obvious that if there is a second wave of infections then it will negatively impact the business because they would have to open and close which will increase stress and impact their finances by constantly opening and closing.

Question 6: Do you forsee any long-term changes to the way you operate?

"Hand washing rules and people having to use liquid chalk rather than loose chalk or chalk balls. (Because of the alcohol in it)"

My thoughts: I initially would have thought that the long-term changes would be quite astronomical because it has been months since they have recieved customers meaning a lack of finance. But it is interesting to see that Nikki and Adam only see that the long-term changes would be how customers use chalk not major business changes.

Question 7: Is there a silver lining/something valuable you have gained from this pandemic?

"Because we are open 7 days a week for 13 hours a day we would never have been able to rebuild in the way that we have. Also it’s been really nice not having to lock up at 10.30 every night."

My thoughts: It's apparent that before the pandemic Nikki and Adam were working extremely hard to improve the business by closing at 10:30 every night. The closure has allowed them to take a break from the hectic environment and focus on updating the business. This is one of the positives that many other businesses will benefit from when their businesses are temporarily closed.

Question 8: Have you considered any marketing/advertising options before the pandemic and especially during it?

"No, we have never done any marketing or advertising. We do a little bit of social media but that is it."

My thoughts: It's understandable that a fairly new and small company has not considered any marketing options due to the shortage of funds especially because of the recent closure. They might not even need any marketing options as they operate in a niche market and word-of-mouth can be a very effective form of marketing. Since they sometimes have 120 customers in at one time, they might not need to spend a lot of money on marketing which allows them to have funds for expansion, therefore improving and growing their business. They do use social media which is a great free way to market themselves, especially as the majority of their customers use social media.

Question 9: How well do you think the Government have communicated to you the changes in policies impacting your business? Is there anything they could have done better?

"We have had all the information we have needed. The government have been very quick to give us a big grant and pay 80% of staff wages which has been great."

My thoughts: This response is interesting because the majority of the news over the past months have been to the detriment of the government. According to Nikki and Adam, the goverment has paid a lot of interest in helping companies financially to make sure that they don't close, thus harming the economy.

Final Opinion: Reviewing Nikki and Adam's comments on their business, it is clear that they are ideal business owners who have adapted their services and products to help keep customers safe and to ensure their business thrives and grows. I believe that they will achieve this because they have put their lives into Red Goat Climbing. After the lockdown, they will see a drop in revenue but over time they will gradually see an increase in customers due to the reduced infection rate and the 2021 Olympics helping the indoor climbing industry grow.

Many thanks to Nikki May and Adam Exley for participating in this interview.