COVID-19 Startup Information Pack

Table of Contents

  1. Mentors

  2. New Zealand Business Support Package

  3. Regional Business Partners

  4. Working Remotely

  5. Cash Flow

  6. Your Supply Chain

  7. Leave and Isolation

  8. Mental Health and Well-being

  9. Insurance

  10. Customers

Mentors

If you don’t have a mentor, Business Mentors NZ are working hard to meet additional demand. If you need a sounding board and guidance from an experienced businessperson, get in with the Otago Chamber of Commerce.

If you already have a mentor lined up, now is the time to ask them what they’re doing, how they’re coping, and what tools they’re using to get through this. You might pick up some ideas, even if it’s not all completely relevant.

New Zealand Business Support Package

This is uncharted territory. The past few months have seen devastating natural disasters in Aotearoa and Australia, and now, the global outbreak of COVID-19. The New Zealand Government has released a $12.1 billion package in response. One of the largest packages in the world on a per capita basis.

Who can access it?

If you're an employer, contractor, sole trader or self-employed, you may qualify to get the COVID-19 wage subsidy.

To qualify:

  • your business must be registered and operating in New Zealand

  • your employees must be legally working in New Zealand

  • the business must have experienced a minimum 30% decline in actual or predicted revenue over the period of a month when compared with the same month last year, and that decline is related to COVID-19

  • your business must have taken active steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 (See how you can work towards this one below)

  • you must make best efforts to retain employees and pay them a minimum of 80% of their normal income for the subsidised period.

For definitions of these qualifications, see the information under the 'Definitions for Wage Subsidy qualifications'

How much can you get?

The COVID-19 Wage Subsidy will be paid at a flat rate of:

  • $585.80 for people working 20 hours or more per week

  • $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week.

The subsidy is paid as a lump sum and covers 12 weeks per employee.

This subsidy is for wages only. It is to help you keep your staff employed while you consider changes that may be needed while the disruption continues, and to ensure the future viability of your business.

Applying

You apply online for either the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy or COVID-19 Leave Payment - click here for more information. 

When you apply you will need to provide:

  • your IRD number   

  • your business name 

  • business address

  • the names of your employees

  • your employee IRD numbers

  • contact details for your business and your employees 

The Ministry of Social Development will be processing and approving applications as quickly as they can. They are aiming to make payments five working days after they have all the information they need from you – but this will depend on the volume of applications received.

Regional Business Partners

The Otago Regional Business Partner Network is available to support businesses through COVID-19. Our service is funded by government and delivered by the Otago Chamber of Commerce. Our job is to discuss your key business challenges with you and link you with the support that is available at this time.

If you would like to speak with one of our team, please register on the Regional Business Partner Website www.regionalbusinesspartners.co.nz . Please understand that demand for this support is significant and that our RBP team will get back to you just as soon as we can. The RBP website was also having overloading issues yesterday but we hope that this is now resolved. If you are unable to register immediately, please try later in the day.

Covid-19 Advisory Funding

The Regional Business Partner Network has been given additional government funds to support businesses through COVID-19. Our focus will be to assist with funding for businesses to access 1-1 support with professionals in the following areas:

  • HR

  • Health and Wellness

  • Business Continuity Planning

  • Finance and Cashflow Management

Businesses will be able to access up to $5000 (ex gst) in funding to fully fund advice in the areas above. We hope to distribute this fund to as many businesses as possible so allocations are unlikely to be to this maximum. This will be managed by the growth advisors and will be at their discretion.

Business Eligibility

Businesses will need to have registered on the RBP Platform www.regionalbusinesspartners.co.nz and met with an RBP Growth Advisor to access this support.

Businesses will need to meet the following criteria:

  • Have undergone an assessment with a Regional Partner (i.e.: Growth Advisor);

  • Have fewer than 50 full time equivalent employees;

  • Are registered for GST in New Zealand;

  • Are operating in a commercial environment; and

  • Are a privately owned businesses, or are a Maori Trust or incorporation under the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 or similar organisation managing Maori assets under multiple ownership.

  • The Growth Advisor needs to be satisfied that this support will be beneficial to the customer.

Provider Eligibility

Alternatively, if you are able to provide businesses expert advice in the 4 areas above and have ability to deliver services over the next couple of months please register your service on the RBP Portal and select COVID-19 Support under the service categories.

Providers will need to register services with the following information:

  1. Description of the relevant management capability areas they can provide expert advice and support in

  2. An hourly rate for this service

  3. Details on mode of delivery, i.e. Zoom, Skype, or Phone

  4. Select the new COVID-19 support subject category

Please note the service will need to be delivered and invoiced prior to the 30th June 2020.

Any queries about accessing RBP support, please email support@otagorbp.co.nz

Other NZ Government Support

For more information about wage subsidies for business and assistance with the cost of self isolation leave click here.

In addition here are the links to the official government sites for advice on managing the impacts of COVID-19.

Working Remotely

Video Conferencing

We use Zoom. It’s really useful to still be able to have meetings with your team and check-in throughout the day. 

An alternative for Gmail users is Google Hangouts.

Team Messaging

Try out Slack.

Instead of talking in person or cluttering each others inboxes with emails, chat on Slack. Slack is very user-friendly, private, and instant. It’s good for collaborating on different topics, and you can check in with each other on work progress, morale and mental health.

Project Management

Trello is our go to for teams to manage their projects without being in the same room as each other.

We’ll be updating the tools listed in this section as we learn more.

If you haven’t worked remotely before, you might be surprised by how much you can get done with good discipline and online tools.

Cash Flow

Cash flow is the most common concern of business owners at the moment.

What are your projections? Do you have a plan?

You might want to sit down (or video chat) with your team and talk about the financial projections for your business. Make sure to adjust your projections for different scenarios. At the very least include a best-case, medium-case and worst-case scenario.

Make a plan for what actions you could take in each scenario. You can review your business against these projections at any stage and implement these plans at any time. Make sure to have a list of tasks that will need to be crossed off depending on what scenario you head towards.

It can also be worthwhile to talk to your bank once you’ve made these plans.

The government is advising businesses that they’re changing the rules around tax to help free up cash flow - and you could be eligible for some monetary support.

Checkout this resource from Polson Higgs that might help you make sense of this. 

Supply Chain

COVID-19 is disruptive. You’re going to need to review your supply chain, and plan for different outcomes. You might not be able to get supplies from overseas sources, so it’s worth asking around now to see who you could find as a backup option. Having a little previous interaction with a local supplier could really help you secure that link, if sh*t really hits the fan. Ask yourself “what would happen if X”? There could be flow-on effects you haven’t considered yet, so get your thinking cap on. 

Leave and Isolation

Your policies around sick leave are important right now. Have you reviewed them recently?

If any of your employees have been overseas recently, they’re required by the government to self-isolate for 14 days. You’ll need to account for that, and remember that the government has included these circumstances in it’s support package, so if you experience a 30 percent decline in revenue for any month between January and June 2020, click this link to apply for some help.

Extra assistance from the government should help you keep afloat if you’ve got wages to pay and sick leave to dish out.

There’s a helpful and informative fact sheet on this topic here.

Mental Health and Well-being

Start with you

Stay open and communicate about how you’re feeling. Just as you’re preparing your business for times to get worse, make sure to take measures to look after your own mental health too. New Zealanders tend to have a “get on with it” attitude, it’s part of what makes us so hard working, but don’t neglect your emotional well-being and hauora hinengaro.

Lean on the Community

Startup Dunedin will be hosting community events via Zoom to connect you all. There are also Facebook communities - if you’re curious in finding some, reach out anytime. 

Your emotional and mental health is important. It is normal to feel stressed or lonely when self-isolating, but there are some things you can do to feel better.

  • Reach out to your usual supports, like family and friends, and talk about how you feel. 

  • Stick to a routine such as having regular mealtimes, bedtimes and exercising.

  • Keep in touch with friends and family over the phone, or social media.

  • Keep active. Physical exercise is good for your well-being, look for online classes or courses to help you do light exercise in your home.

  • Xero have some excellent webinar recordings on topics related to mental health that you can view and talk about within your team. 

If you feel you are not coping, it is important to talk with a health professional. For support with grief, anxiety, distress or mental well-being, you can call or text 1737 – free, anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – to talk with a trained counsellor.

Insurance

It may be a good time to keep your eye on your insurance policy. You should know what’s covered when it comes to business interruption and loss, who to contact about any issues you’re having, and when to contact them. Force majeure clauses are written for this very reason - so have a chat with your lawyer if you need to, and see what your options are.  

Customers

Hell Pizza are a great example of a business making lemonade right now. Delivery is free for March, and no-contact delivery options are available for those who are in self isolation.

How do you interface with customers? How do you communicate? Where are they coming from and what kind of marketing strategies can you employ to mitigate loss and keep things ticking along? Upfront communication about how orders may be affected is a good strategy. You should be proactive. 

Try Mailchimp if you haven’t already - this platform is awesome for sending out mass emails and information to groups. 

Book a call with us if you need to. We can connect you with other people who might be valuable to you right now, and vice versa. 

Startup Dunedin has always been blown away by the amazing work ethic and innovation of the many small businesses in Ōtepoti. Focus on what you can do right now that is tangible, productive, and practical.