I urge you to shop locally and support local businesses

The Covid lockdowns may have finished, but that doesn’t mean businesses have recovered. I know I have a business Xara Skin Clinic in Lane Cove. Before Covid, we were doing well growing and investing in equipment. In a high-technology business such as this, having the best and the latest is important to deliver results to customers.

Take for example January was the worst month ever, we were down 80%, yes it is recovering but slowly and is nowhere near pre-Covid. In January we had to let our staff go as there was no work or money to pay them, it is tough but you have to do what you have to do. Yes, I know we are not the only ones.

Little Red Robbin

The fantastic restaurant below us opened just before Covid and was closed just after by NSW Health. They got nothing from the government as the test was what you were doing a year ago compared to then. They were not open a year ago, so they got nothing and were prevented from earning money.

Thankfully they pulled through, but it cost them.

What is a local business?

A local business can be your next-door neighbour, someone who knows your name. Someone with whom you can have a chat and who is interested in you and not just your money. They are not like your multi-national companies that are run by marketing teams, the outlets are cool and you are just $’s to them.

What pain was caused?

You only have to look around to see it, in the affluent North Shore it seems that every third or fourth shop is up for lease. This comes from what I see as a misguided policy that puts the protection of all on small businesses. The businesses were nowhere near compensated for the losses, to protect others.

Now, these failed businesses, where in most cases not the fault of the owners running the businesses, some have been running for years. What this has caused is owners to lose their livelihood and in some cases their homes. Lockdowns and people not going out and spending local.

Under a rock

People can’t live forever under a rock, you have to live a life. Our house is double-vaxed yet we have had three Covid cases in the house in two months. One could ask if the government’s response was disproportionate to the risk. None of us need medical care and in most cases, the flu was worse.

Spend Local

Please spend locally and help your businesses that are still taking a hit from Covid. They are the ones that did the heavy lifting and go screwed for doing it, local is the way to go.

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