In the June 2020 edition of Motor Trader, we spoke with the owners of four MTA Queensland member businesses from across the State. One year on, we talk to those business owners again to see how they have fared and how they feel about the future today.

A year ago, Fionna Blackburne, owner of award-winning Southeast Auto Mechanical in Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, had been feeling the pressure.

As it was for every other small-business owner, the lockdown and restrictions had severely affected Southeast Auto Mechanical and the concern was real and the situation ‘very scary’.

Things got tough enough that Fionna was forced to dive deep into how her business operated in search of efficiencies and, much to her dismay, to let an employee go.

There were ‘lots of little changes’ that she set in motion – from how often big bins were emptied to the set-up of phone lines, to ensuring a COVID-safe environment for staff and customers – and those seemingly small innovations are here to stay.

“I still have most of the changes I made over 12 months ago in place,” said Fionna. “I think one of the positives to come out of COVID is that it did make me look at every avenue of my business to see if we could do things better and tighten up the purse strings. It made me look at how I do business and how we can change and adapt to the circumstances to get the job done.”

While the state and federal governments’ response – through early pandemic containment and business support measures – was welcome, Fionna said she was unable to access some of the support that had been made available.

“I think we can always do better and in hindsight our government probably could have done better with their financial assistance for businesses. However, they did what they thought was best at the time,” she said.

“To the best of my knowledge, the incentives were JobKeeper, rent relief, low-interest rate loans and cash flow boosts. I was not impacted as much as other businesses and therefore did not qualify for most of the financial relief available,” she added.

“At the time, I contacted my accountant, Kirsten Fowler of KEF Accounting, and sought advice regarding what relief I could seek and, in the end, I received relief in paying the tax on the wages each quarter.”

One year on, and even with the ever-present threat of a COVID outbreak and potential lockdown (Greater Brisbane was shut down for a few days at the end of March), things are, Fionna said, looking pretty positive even with the difficulties in sourcing parts and components.

“The business is going well, and things are generally back to normal,” she said. “I have employed a first-year apprentice and the incentives to hire are positive. However, there are still some delays with ordering and receiving parts.

“We need to keep being vigilant with appropriate hygiene in our workplace and society, and get vaccinated as soon as we are able. The shutdowns are rapid and sometimes feel over the top. However, they are done to protect the community, and I personally prefer our government be over cautious and contain an outbreak quickly before it hits the wider community.

“In my opinion, COVID is our new norm, and we just have to get on with it. However, I am optimistic about the future for my business and the motor trade industry given our new norm.”

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (June 2021) 

11 June 2021