Byron Shire businesses have been dealing with COVID-19 for six months now and the results of surveys of business owners from May to July have been released by Council.
The fortnightly surveys were conducted to gauge the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and to track how businesses were adapting over time.
Like many businesses across Australia, those in the Byron Shire were hard hit by the pandemic, especially those that were highly dependent on tourism.
Business owners told Council that their key priorities, especially in the early days included:
- Making rent/loan repayments
- Paying suppliers
- Ensuring the retention of jobs.
The results also revealed that people were aware that there was an immediate need to strengthen branding and marketing as well as identifying new and potential markets.
Lisa Richards, Council's Business Enterprise Officer, said that while some businesses have found COVID-19 incredibly difficult, the pandemic has created opportunities for others.
"There is no doubt the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt for a long time in our business community and the next challenge for many will be the changes to the JobKeeper and Jobseeker payments later this month," Ms Richards said.
The results of Council's Business Impacts, Resilience and Continuity Survey are available on Council's website.
