Thursday, 9th April, 2020
Not long back in Wanaka after the birth of his first son, Isaac, Board member Alex Cull, from Findex, has been at the coalface of COVID-19 working with clients and helping raise a newborn. Here's Alex's take on life under level 4 lockdown.
๐ช๐ต๐ผ'๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ-๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ? (๐ฏ๐๐ฏ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ) ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ-๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ. My wife Sarah, who has taken on an office admin role, and our four-month old, Isaac ๐ถ ๐ผ , who is part-way through his internship (although he may not be asked back for the 2021 ๐ Graduate Programme).
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป? We have connected with our neighbours and family overseas ๐ , I am spending more time with family, and there are less cars ๐ ๐ on the roads.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด? Seeing the uncertainty many businesses and employees face ๐ . I have processed many wage subsidies in the past weeks for businesses who do not know how long the lockdown will last and whether they will be able to keep their doors open if it goes beyond six weeks.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ "๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ"?
Going to work in slippers
ย
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐?
Maintain a routine. Wake-up at a consistent time each day โฐ โฐ and plan some tasks. Eat well ๐ฅ ๐ฅ .
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ-๐ญ๐ต?
Stay informed and make use of the Governmentโs economic relief measures.
Consider wage subsidy ๐ฐ ๐ธ payments, mortgage holiday packages, the Government Finance Guarantee Scheme, Inland Revenue tax payment deferrals and Family Assistance Tax Credits. Find out what you are eligible for.
1. Talk โ๏ธ ๐ ๐ณ to your suppliers, employees and landlords ๐ช before things get too bad. They may be willing to help and it will save the relationship when things return to normal.
2. Get in touch with customers and arrange work for after the lockdown.
3. Remain positive ๐ ๐คฃ as the effects of the lockdown will be driven by sentiment. If businesses are negative and take a defensive approach, it will take longer to recover.