During the pandemic many businesses, including those in our District, are diversifying and adapting their services to suit new requirements.

R H Displays and Exhibitions in Sleaford is one of these. Before Coronavirus struck, the business specialised in creating bespoke environments for exhibitions, events and interiors.

Since the spread of the virus, it has adapted its offer and is currently providing clients with office and retail Covid-19 protection such as desk screens, moveable full height protection screens, reception and sales desk protection screens and sanitising stations.

Leader of North Kesteven District Council, Councillor Richard Wright, said: “The effects of coronavirus have been tough on businesses across our District, including those in non-essential retail which may soon be able to reopen and those in our service and hospitality industries which are still required to remain closed.

“It’s heartening to see companies including R H Displays and Exhibitions in Sleaford using their design and manufacturing know-how to create solutions, such as screens and sanitising stations, which can enable these businesses to make the appropriate preparations to protect staff, customers and suppliers.”
Recently R H Displays and Exhibitions has installed solutions at Interflora in Sleaford, and has secured an order to supply to Dexter & Sharpe Accountants which has several offices across Lincolnshire.

There are two main types of solutions the business can provide. One main type is solutions in different configurations and fitting methods for discreet but essential screening in office environments, for example, and the other is protective screen solutions to help retailers and businesses make the preparations needed to reopen safely with social distancing measures in place.

North Kesteven District Council’s BusinessNK team provided advice to R H Displays and Exhibitions on applying for grant funding – guidance the team is offering to all businesses eligible for funding help – and the Council granted three month’s half rent relief under support for business tenants. If your business is contributing to the COVID-19 response, you can share your story by joining the dedicated BusinessNK Facebook group or finding @BusinessNK on Twitter.

R H Displays & Exhibitions

Photography is something I have always had a passion for and was initially just a hobby, however once I realised there was potential for this to become a business I started searching for help and support, however I was underwhelmed with the support I found.

Following this I did a search for business support in North Kesteven and found the Business NK website and in particular the business adviser page which introduced me to Phil Means. I sent him an email and got a fairly swift response, we had several, long phone conversation which were incredibly helpful.

The conversations made me focus on what I really wanted from my business and how I should approach it. He made me really focus on the planning and setting out my goals for my business. I wasn't aware of the service beforehand so I was really pleased to have found Phil. Our conversations were all over the phone due to the Covid situation. We will meet up in person as soon as we are both able. I've found Phil’s advice, encouragement and enthusiasm very beneficial and left me feeling positive about the future. I would encourage anyone thinking of starting a business to get in touch with Phil.

Kevin Lynes,, Lincs 360
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Saturday 5 December saw a number of retailers in Sleaford participate in Small Business Saturday, a national day intended to encourage people to shop locally.

Some offered exclusive discounts for the day to encourage residents to shop safe and local in the town, while the Council launched its new shopping directory at businessnk.co.uk and provided bunting on a first-come first-served basis. There was a 100% increase in footfall on Saturday 5 December compared to figures before the national lockdown.

In its eighth year, Small Business Saturday 2020 coincided with the reopening of retail across the country and for most people the start of their Christmas shopping, all of which contributed to the increased footfall.

Owners of businesses across Sleaford commented on the success, as they saw an increase in customers on the Saturday and over the weekend, as people were particularly drawn in store after seeing the range of shops taking part and in particular the attractive discounts that were promoted across Facebook.

If you feel comfortable to do so, please continue to support high street retailers and shop local – doing so safely by following the Covid guidance and the measures in place at each establishment – over the Christmas period and into the New Year. If you don’t want to visit in person you could buy online or over the phone. Visit our business directory to find contact details for your favourite shops.

You can also support businesses that have remained closed during the Tier 3 Very High alert level in place, by using takeaway or click and collect services. It’s more important than ever to support local businesses in the current climate.

Small Business Saturday has big impact

In 2017 we inherited the semi derelict warehouse behind 68 Southgate, Sleaford. Formerly stables and part of the curtilage of the original Nag’s Head Pub, a second storey was added in Victorian times and the warehouse eventually became storage for the Hix (Sleaford) Ltd grocer and greengrocer business.

Our first thought was to ask NKDC for advice - we had no idea where to begin in terms of renovation, what might be possible, what might be permissible and what Sleaford might need. The building was an eyesore as well as becoming unsafe and open to the elements and we had no experience of planning and potential future use. Key contacts at NKDC and their introductions to the LEADER Team were certainly a pinnacle part of the process.

We were advised to begin with a structural survey, explore whether the building was listed, meet NKDC’s business advisor, Phil Means to discuss setting up a business and how to begin looking at our funding options.

We engaged a local architect who worked with us on ideas and plans to sympathetically renovate the building, and to liaise with NKDC Planning and we were finally successful with our application. Alongside this, LEADER personnel introduced us to the LEADER grant funding process, guiding us through their process to a successful outcome.

Despite countless delays due to Covid, we were very fortunate to complete the renovation within LEADER grant deadlines at the end of 2020.

We are pleased to now have a fully renovated functional building - a new business unit offering office/workspace over two floors, located in the centre of Sleaford.

We are hugely grateful to all the individuals who gave advice and support throughout - to NKDC for their expertise, interest and advice, to our patient and professional architect and to LEADER for their support, advice and funding - we could not have completed our project without the assistance of so many professional experts in their field.

Christine Barnes and Janice Hix, Hix Patnership, Hix Patnership renovate derelict warehouse in Sleaford

I contacted NKDC approximately two and a half years ago asking for business advice and support. I was delighted to find that unlike other areas NKDC have a wealth of help and advice they can offer individuals looking to become self employed or set up a business. I have contacted other channels for advice and drawn a blank so I was so relieved to hear that NKDC had a specialist adviser called Phil Means on hand to assist, furthermore I was offered as much or as little support as needed, so if I needed practical advice and help with setting up business that would be catered for or if I simply had queries relating to just one area of business advice such as accounting or tax and national insurance that would be addressed.

I contacted Phil and made an appointment to meet! Phil was great and easy to talk to, actually we talked for hours and I learnt so much! At first I was at the stage where I was bouncing my ideas about and Phil helped me hugely to refine and focus my ideas with his practical brain! Since that time to the present date, Phil has been an absolute necessity in my business development and I feel that his positive regard and advice to help me succeed in business has been invaluable and I am grateful to NKDC for the fact that they provide this exceptional service for the community and Phil with his extensive business knowledge and skills.

I know I can rely on Phil to steer me in the right direction and I completely trust his advice and business integrity and after all this time I feel that thanks to Phil and NKDC I have been able to turn my dream of running a business into a reality and I’ve made a trusted friend! Thank you Phil and NKDC!

Amelia Bailey, Tilly’s Tea & Gift Shop
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I have been self employed all my working life and after a total change in career over 9 years ago, I was lucky enough to take over a successful business in catering. Approximately 6 months ago, when my business had been struggling for a while, I was introduced to Phil Means, Business Advisor at NKDC.

His knowledge and advice has made me feel much more positive about the future. Also, his suggestion regarding a new project as a ‘back- up’ plan was initially daunting but after each meeting with him, his encouragement and support made me realise that nothing is impossible with the right help and we are moving forward with this new venture. As a small business, I have often thought there isn’t any support for people like me but Phil has proven me wrong. From pointing me in the right direction for information, to assisting with filling in daunting forms,

Phil is first class. I would definitely recommend that anyone searching for advice and support in business contacts Phil, sooner rather than later

Jayne Wilkinson, Jayne’s Pantry
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I initially got in contact with Phil Means after a friend had received similar assistance in Newark, so through her recommendation I looked to see what support North Kesteven District Council offer. That’s when I discovered Phil Means and his role as Business Support Adviser. I reached out to Phil mainly for an outside opinion and advice on my business so I could really understand whether my idea was viable and could become a business.

Phil helped in creating a plan and formulating my ideas helping in different areas to visualise my idea and how this could become a business whilst also assisting with the forecast and figures all of which combined helped start my business and turn what was an initial idea into a business. After sitting down with Phil we looked at ideas to start to pull everything together. Phil massively helped me with the numbers, he understood the calculations and how I would calculate the average spend of a customer this definitely being an area I was struggling in. Following this he asked me to consider three key steps for my business specifically to create a plan, of which focused on different areas that I would have perhaps overlooked otherwise.

Another aspect of the process that Phil helped in was suggesting I carry out research as he felt this would give me a better understanding of my desired audience and how my new offering would be received. Throughout the process support mechanisms were brought to my attention that I otherwise would not have known about, this is also the case with regards to start up loans, and grants that were available to me and which were suitable specifically to my business. Without his knowledge in this area these opportunities would have been missed and with the start-up loan I would have just got a business one instead which would have definitely been a missed opportunity.

Phil’s support wasn’t limited to his individual offerings but he also put me in contact with the right contacts such as a member of the planning team at the council, as we started to look for units for my business it became apparent there would be some issues as it was difficult to find a match as we faced issues with usage of the units. However despite facing complications both the planning team and Phil helped to find a solution to the problem and in the end I found a suitable unit for my business.

I think without Phil Means and his support I would really question whether my business would have happened at all, because I wanted to do this two years ago so it is definitely thanks to his support that I was able to execute my idea and turn it into a business. I would definitely advice any business to contact Phil, specifically if you are new to being self-employed then I think he would be a huge support for sure.

I am still in contact with Phil we have an ongoing relationship and I know there is no deadline for the support offered, he said to just contact him if in need of any support he’s only an email away and he’s even popped in a few times just to see how things are going with the business.

I also have future plans to develop the unit and the business, and for these areas I am still working with Phil on my new ideas and again he is providing me contacts to access my future plans before going forward with any work.

Dena Field, Delightful Hair & Beauty
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I was given Phil’s details by a fellow small business owner and despite her singing Phil’s praises I went into my first meeting not entirely sure how he could help with my new business. An hour and a half later and I’d been blown away by our discussion and the suggestions Phil made. I’ve subsequently gone back and reviewed my business plan and with Phil’s help I’m dreaming bigger than I ever thought possible. I feel re-energised about my business and with Phil’s help I’ve got an action plan to grow and develop.

I can’t recommend Phil enough – he’s thoughtful, understanding, insightful and supportive. Thank you Phil and NKDC for providing this wonderful service!

Natalie Walker, Toastworthy Events
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At the time of lockdown I had and still have two barber shops one in Bracebridge Heath and one in Navenby, as well as a hair salon, Urban Angels in Navenby. It was from Urban angels that we set up Urban Gelato and milkshakes. We had made the decision Saturday morning to close the shops, prior to the Monday 23rd lockdown.

After closing the shops, I spent the first initial days going through highs and lows, wondering where my 18 years of hard work had disappeared to whilst questioning whether it would survive the coming months. I then enjoyed 4 weeks of sunshine, my home and garden and some amazing dog walks. By week 5 I had a week on the sofa looking at my phone, news on TV and was quite lazy. I then thought I can’t do this for another 8 weeks and look back at my time that was wasted.

I started to wonder what I could do with my empty shops. At first I didn’t know what to do, but I started to look at what you could do rather than what you couldn’t do. I went through a range of things I could sell, not wanting to tread on any toes of other businesses trying to survive the pandemic.

I discovered that my A1 shop licence enabled me to sell take away cold food, I then chatted to a friend who was taking her 3 year old twin girls for a walk to ‘see the bear’, apparently he was fishing today, yesterday he was driving a car. This was their daily routine to get out of the house and have a target objective. It then all started to click into place, cold food, take away, shop entrance, destination, and purpose.

I then put it out there on the village Facebook page to gauge interest and objections. The idea was met with full enthusiasm and so much positivity it was overwhelming. I started to look at ice cream, but quickly decided that if I was going to do this then I wanted to offer the village the very best. I still had to wait for the announcement in 10 days to see when the earliest date that salons could reopen.

In this time I sought the knowledge, suppliers who could make the Artisan Gelato for us, along with sourcing of the Gelato machine/freezer and everything else involved for the running of this.

The initial date for reopening was moved back, meaning July 4th was the earliest date we could reopen. I therefore set about contacting the suppliers and arranging dates for delivery, I had everything delivered and in place by Sunday afternoon. Gelato freezer was full and ready to go.

Following this we decided to have a training day on the Monday prior to the Tuesday opening and took this opportunity to gather all our staff from the 3 shops along with their families, to see how social distancing would be. This proved to be a very successful exercise and was a great way for the team to see each other from a distance and reconnect.

On Tuesday morning the new sign was in place and transformed the front of the salon, we were now officially Urban Gelato & Milkshakes. We now had 56 days to get a return on our money. We decided that if the investment was 6K and we had a return of 4K then it was a loss but a gain for sanity. The worst result would mean we were out of pocket and have a lot of Gelato to give away.

As the days turned into weeks, it became apparent that we couldn’t just stop the Gelato after our initial pop up stint. We started to look at ways to save the Gelato, exploring the potential to use available empty shops, a specially made pod, van etc. We then thought of the idea to move the hair salon and then turn the salon into a Gelato and deli so it could survive the winter months. We again looked at a variety of options which has lead us onto another property to move the salon to. Having got our heads around this, we when then approached by the owners of the village tea rooms, who said they were thinking about selling. This led to us meeting and in under 3 weeks we had purchased the business and now have an ideal location to house our Gelato.

The only issue with this was that we now also wanted to keep the tea rooms and the Gelato. We are now looking at moving the kitchen upstairs, moving Gelato from the doorway into the kitchen area with a serving hatch and bringing the Tea rooms back, serving Navenby breakfasts, using locally sourced produce, sour dough with smashed avocado and poached egg etc. We are working with a coffee company who use organic and sustainable coffee with a great brand and taste behind them, alongside serving light lunches.

Urban Gelato & Milkshakes
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