Looking At 2020

2020 a review !

I wanted to start this post by writing what has been written thousands of times over the last year. 2020 has been a strange, challenging and even tragic year for many people and businesses.

While it has had an impact on the operation of E Bird Horticulture this impact has been relatively small. I’ve certainly had to change how I interact with my customers to obey the social distancing protocols but when your work is 99% outdoors it hasn’t been a major factor in the operation of the business.

Personally 2020 saw a few major milestones for me. As I said in my last blog post I managed to graduate from Askham Bryan College with a First Class Honours Degree in Applied Horticulture. This is an achievement I’m incredibly proud of.

Degree Certificate

Despite the regulations which came into force in March myself and my partner managed to get married in a beautiful treehouse in September with 30 of our closest friends and family. It wasn’t what we had originally planned or had in mind, but my wife and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to get married and share it with our nearest and dearest. So many couples are now onto their third or fourth dates already.

One of our wedding photos (by Joanne B Photography)

Back to the business and the measures I have taken to be able to work in a safe and secure way.

I always have carried both hand sanitizer and soap in my van and will continue to do so, sanitising between each customer visit and regularly throughout the day.

I now carry a mask in my van and use this whenever and wherever I need to. It is washed regularly to keep both myself and others safe.

I no longer send paper invoices to my customers - invoices now go by text message or email depending on customer preference.

I no longer accept drinks or snacks from my customers to limit transfer and direct contact between my customers and myself.

For my high risk customers or those whom are shielding or isolating I have often taken packages of food and have let them know that I am able to pick up items which they may struggle to get or forget to order from the supermarket. I have posted letters and picked up things not available from supermarkets. For some of these customers I have been the only constant in their life throughout lockdowns 1, 2 & 3 with family visits very much curtailed. I feel both a sense of pride and responsibility to keep going to my customers that have been particularly isolated during 2020 and I know that my customers appreciate this too.

A customer of mine put a call out for some spring bulbs to brighten up the local village school and surrounding area and I am proud to say that I was able - with the help of one of my bulb suppliers to be able to donate 50kg of daffodils and 2000 crocus bulbs to get the project started. I’m really looking forward to seeing the difference that these bulbs make to the local area.

Daffodils on a roadside

Crocus backlit by the sun

As a small business 2020 has been one of the strangest but I’d like to thank all my customers and suppliers for sticking with me in 2020. I feel privileged to have been able to work throughout 2020 with no interruptions to my business and am happy to say that E Bird Horticulture has not had to apply for any support from government or other organisations and I've been able to pay all bills and taxes on time. I’ve tried to support small businesses where possible to help keep keep the local economy ticking over.