News

Robyn’s Cottage adapts to COVID-19 challenges

Robyn’s Cottage is the culmination of a 30-year dream for Robyn Parker.

Greerton born and bred, her craft store had become a cornerstone of conversation and community catch-ups in the three years since it opened, with customers getting together to reminisce about the old days of the suburb and its changes over the years.

So when a nationwide lockdown forced Robyn to close, she was at a loss – both professionally and personally.

As we head into Level 3, Robyn is now more optimistic, having connected with business professionals and providers who have been able to give her a refreshed sense of direction and a plan for the changing industry ahead.

We are thrilled to have supported Robyn on this journey through our webinars; we caught up with our Chamber member to find out how she is adapting to the new ways of business and what the future has in-store for her.

Tell us about you and your business

Robyn’s Cottage is in Greerton.  I am a local girl serving locals (I am Greerton born and breed; my parents have been there since 1951 and my Mum is still lives there).

We are an authorised Brother dealer and recently became an authorised Janome dealership. We have sewing/embroidery machines for sale along with a range of haberdashery and knitting yarns. We also have knitted baby/small children’s garments and recently an adult’s knitwear range. We had been running educational classes as well.

How has the COVID-19 lockdown affected your business?

We locked the door and left on March 25 not knowing where we were heading. Were our doors going to reopen to the public, and if so when?

The first five days were a nightmare for me – I used a box of tissues with all the crying… but one of the early webinars said it was okay to cry.

What were some of your biggest challenges during lockdown, as a business and personally?

Not knowing where to go, what to do, motivation, keeping in a routine.

I struggled getting out of bed in the first few days. One day I didn’t get dressed and spent the whole day doing a jigsaw puzzle. Dealing with banks (business/personal) was very stressful. One day I spent over five hours on hold and was told several times during the conversation, “I don’t do that, I will put you back in the queue”.  I knew once I had dealt with the banks there was nothing more I could do so I just wanted it done, but I felt the banks were not in a hurry to do anything.

The webinars helped getting though this and turn around our thinking to make the most of this time.

You attended a number of webinars, including many with the Chamber – why did you sign up for these? Were they beneficial?

Mentally, they helped a great deal – we were not alone. We could relate to others on the webinars. We did up to five per week, some of the repeated ones we did more than once but we got a least five things out of each webinar, some of them more. Following on from the webinars we have increased the network group we now have.

As a result of COVID-19, what are some key changes you have had to make to your business as a result?

Not been able to conduct classes to help people, I have had to learn to Facetime, Zoom meetings and video calling to help customers with problems in their crafting. We are also getting our website up and going in a very short time.

How will your business continue to operate into Level 3?

We have been very grateful to Zeald for helping us get our website up and going from the start and going live later this week will put us in a good place for Level 3.

What are you looking forward to about Level 3 and beyond for your business?

Working with customers’ orders and getting people back into their crafting.  Further down the track, we will have classes and the up-close contact with fellow crafters as we were doing.

Anything else you’d like to add?

We need to all support local business and adopt the support local community feeling.

Previous
Upcoming tax changes and FBT implications
Next
Mighty Outdoor Solutions make the most of COVID-19 lockdown

Related articles

keyboard_arrow_up