Ed’s Gardening Business Update – Summer uninterrupted
Ed’s Gardening business in a pandemic? We just wanted to give a brief update on how life is at Ed’s at the moment and how our gardening businesses are bearing up in the current conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the lockdown was announced, our reaction was “What does this mean for our Ed’s gardening businesses?.” However we took comfort from the following facts:-
- gardening is naturally a safe and socially-distanced activity
- we have significant experience of tackling business challenges head on (although we had to admit that this one was quite exceptional)
- we have a great team of franchisees who are always ready to support the Ed’s overall business and each other
- our franchisees have lots of loyal customers and the support of each other to navigate a way through.
Ed’s Gardening Businesses – The Reality of the Situation
And so… we took a deep breath, took a calm and pragmatic approach and sought to map out a way forward for the Ed’s businesses through these unprecedented times. We set our minds to getting a modus operandi in place as soon as possible. That way, business owners, who wanted to work through the pandemic, could safely do so. We were very fortunate that gardening services were able to continue during lockdown. This was very reassuring for Ed’s gardening business owners. However, we also respected that everyone’s family circumstances were different. If gardening business owners chose not to work, that was entirely at their discretion too.
Our business owners wasted no time in putting a range of safety precautions in place to protect the safety of their customers as well as their own while they go about their gardening jobs. Financial performance is important but safety always comes first.
Demand for our gardening services has been running high as usual over the past months. We are very grateful for our customers’ business at any time, but especially during these uncertain times. We are doing our very best to meet our customers’ needs and service demand levels whilst of course continuing to work safely.
Ed’s Gardening Businesses – One thing is certain, grass keeps growing…
Mark, our Ed’s business owner in Ramsgate sums things up well. Mark says ” When the pandemic first hit, like everyone else in the country, I wondered what it would mean for my business. However, I have been really busy throughout. Demand for my services has been really strong. The feedback I have been getting from my customers is that everyone is spending a lot more time at home. Outdoor space is even more of a luxury than usual. If the summer is being spent at home, they want the garden to feel as much like being on holiday as possible. That’s where I can make a big difference. I have found it really rewarding to help my customers during these difficult times. I consider myself extremely lucky to be the owner of a strong gardening business in these testing times.”
Matthew, our well-established Ed’s business owner in Folkestone says ” Our business is pretty bomb proof to be honest. When I looked for a franchise all these years ago, never in my wildest dreams would I have been thinking about what sector would be fine in a global pandemic! But there you are, luckily I made a good choice’”
The acid test…
And finally, we asked Theo, our newest Ed’s business owner, for his take on the situation. Theo said “The timing of setting up a brand new business just as lockdown was announced could have been better! However, I’ve been supported so well by Ed’s over the past few months and I’ve been really busy. It’s amazing that I’ve been able to put building blocks in place for my business when the country was in lockdown. I’ve actually been able to make a really good start on building my new business.”
If you would like to discuss opportunities within Ed’s, please do get in touch.