I was pondering what to write for my next blog… Should it be something tips-based, designed to help small business owners to learn something new? Or should it be something about staying strong in difficult times? But I realised I didn’t want to write something ‘business as usual’, or even something designed to be overtly positive and uplifting. Actually, I wanted to write about was people. And how people are going above and beyond in the fight against Covid-19.

Let’s face it – how the country as a whole has been going above and beyond their ‘norm’ is more than inspiring. From the business perspective, Formula One teams are focussing their efforts on developing breathing aids. Luxury perfume manufacturers have converted factories to produce hand sanitiser. Pictures of rainbows are filling people’s windows.

But it’s not just the larger organisations who are going above and beyond. Small business, and their owners, are following suit. The following are two examples of small business heroes from our very own community:

Karen Stevens

Karen Stevens, of Bags It’s Mine, is normally to be found making beautiful handmade products from fabric and yarn. But things have changed in recent weeks. Now, as well as making hospital scrubs, she is making Frontline Hero teddies and Green bird brooches and key fobs. The aim is to raise funds for Maidenhead Foodshare and Alexander Devine hospice, as their donations have been badly hit. Finally, as a former nurse she is hoping to return to the front line with the NHS, as soon as possible.

Alison Jones

Alison, of Alison Jones Transformational Therapies, is currently unable to practise since the lockdown was announced, and so she has decided to add a new string to her bow. Building on previous experience in a hospital and in working with autistic children, she has just started to train as a carer. In the longer term, she plans to resume her therapeutic work, but to continue to support her care clients on a part time basis.

Despite being terrified, I have just completed my first day shadowing an experienced carer, and it has been the most humbling, rewarding and emotionally challenging day for quite some time. I never realised how important a carer’s role was for people who want to stay in their own homes rather than go into a care home.

Alison Jones, Alison Jones Transformational Therapies

Karen and Alison are just two examples of how small business owners are going above and beyond in the face of Covid-19, and we are proud to have them both as part of our community.

But I also want to celebrate everyone out there who is doing their bit. Parents home-schooling their children. The children themselves, trying their hardest with a completely different way of life, forced upon them because of reasons they may not understand. Sons and daughters, shopping for elderly relatives who are currently shielded. Supermarket workers keeping shelves stocked, and people entertained as they queue for their weekly groceries. And so many others doing their bit too, whether that be 100 laps of a garden, or climbing enough stairs to get to the top of a mountain.

But then of course, there is the NHS. There are no words to describe them. They have always been heroes in my eyes as they saved mine and my daughter’s lives once already. And I’m grateful to them for that, every single day. But the sheer scale of what the men and women of the NHS are doing right now is just amazing. Awe-inspiring. And incredibly courageous. And whether this virus touches our individual familes or not, we should ALL be eternally grateful for them.

So what about you? Do you know someone who is going above and beyond in the fight against Covid-19? If so, tell us all about it! We’d love to hear their story. And if you have a small business story to tell, get in touch about that too! We are always looking for inspiring stories to share on our blog.