Archived April 2020 post. This summarises a feature that appeared in The Central Western Daily (written by Tanya Marschke), in which pmwPlus Managing Partner Ray Miller spoke about how the Orange community could support local businesses through the coronavirus outbreak. Source: The Central Western Daily.
Ray Miller explained that while local businesses were working hard to innovate and reposition themselves, the community could help enormously by continuing to buy local. Cash flow was particularly tight in retail and hospitality, and businesses were finding creative ways to keep trading – one, he noted, had started a virtual cooking class using produce customers bought from the business itself, while many restaurants moved to takeaway and others launched or expanded online shops.
Keeping money in the local economy
Miller’s central message was that one of the most important things for the local economy, then and into the future, was for the Orange community to keep buying locally – shopping with local retailers and booking with local travel agents to keep money circulating in the region.
Adapting and staying productive
He observed that most businesses had moved to working from home where possible, which required people to be adaptable in how they handled their daily work, and stressed the importance of the business community remaining productive. The largest cash-flow pressures came from wages, rent, taxes and loan repayments, but he was optimistic – noting that federal and state government support, and banks deferring loan repayments, were helping businesses manage. Some employees stood down early on had effectively been re-hired through the JobKeeper payment.
A changed environment ahead
Miller acknowledged that coronavirus would force lasting changes and that some industries would emerge into a new environment, but he was confident the Central West would fare relatively well, particularly given the strength of the mining sector.