Business Diary: Community the key to surviving Covid

Liv Wakem, founder of Kingsland-based florist Kensal Flowers, shares her business story and explains how the community can help businesses survive the predicted cashflow and staff shortage issues caused by Omicron.

I have always had an interest in flowers, although it wasn’t something I had thought of pursuing as a career. When I moved to London in 2012, I saw it as a chance to get into floristry – new country, new career. I enrolled in a two-week course to learn the basics and proceeded to pick up three part time jobs at very different flower shops.

I was looking for a fourth job (to cover my London rent!) and I was lucky enough to get a call from Vic Brotherson, at Scarlet & Violet offering me a full-time junior role. I stayed there for the next four and half years working my way up until I was managing the very busy shop. I learnt so much during those years and I am forever grateful to Vic for my time there.

Eventually, our visas ran out and my partner and I decided to move back to New Zealand in 2018 to put down some roots.

In hindsight, I am thankful we moved when we did. After my London experience starting my own thing was the next logical step for me.

I started Kensal Flowers in our laundry. I bought a little, white (and very unreliable) van, built my own website and learnt everything about running a small business along the way through lots of trial and error. Running a business, especially in such uncertain times, is definitely a challenge.

The pandemic has certainly thrown us some curve balls. Being a small, two-woman team has helped us roll with it and easily adapt. Kate, who works with me, is my absolute rock and has been so supportive all the way through.

Level 4 lockdown meant we weren’t able to trade, so it was a time for us to rest and take a step back from a situation that was out of our control. My partner and I had bought a little cottage only months before Covid arrived, so I kept myself busy with DIY projects.

We would have loved to have been able to deliver flowers in Level 4 as I think that is when people would’ve needed that little bit of joy the most.

When we moved to Level 3, the support from our customers was huge. One of our local growers, Alice from Fields Fortune, had an abundance of tulips blooming in her field and no way of selling them all. Alice is a dear friend of ours, so we partnered up and made it our mission to help her sell all her tulips. They were just what everyone needed to brighten up their homes after a long lockdown.

Flexibility the key

I think the most important tip I could give small business owners during a pandemic is the importance of being flexible, and how beneficial it is to be able to change direction at the drop of a hat. It’s also very important to surround yourself with a positive support network.

Some days can be hard but knowing you have a village to support you does wonders.

Trading in our old unreliable van to a new Mercedes-Benz Vito has definitely helped us immensely with our business growth too. The van has been customised to our business requirements and helps us a lot in our day-to-day work. Sustainability is very important to me and I would like our business to transfer onto an electric van as soon as it becomes available.

https://www.kensal.nz