Kaupo Kalda, an Estonian photographer and designer, highlights ten ways to support local businesses and jobs during the coronavirus crisis.
This is a lightly edited version of the article originally published on Reactive design studio’s website.
Us, designers, manage well at the moment – we work from home and everything gets done, at least that’s the case for now. But not everyone is blessed with the opportunity of working from home. Many businesses will struggle to survive, not to mention having to cope with a shortage of orders, and that is truly heart-wrenching to think about. The food, tourism, sports, music and theatre industries, to only name a few, are suddenly faced with an extremely difficult situation.
Let’s help each other get through this tough time. Let’s ensure the services most loved by all of us will also be available in the future. I’m sure you’ll find at least one thing you can do to help from the list below.
- If having to decide between similar products at the grocery store, make sure to always go for the one(s) made in Estonia. It would be even cooler if the product was also made by a smaller business.
- If your local area happens to be home for a small catering business or a self-employed home chef – order goodies from them. The same goes for your favourite cafés and restaurants – order food from them through an app.
- If you have a favourite spa, hotel, holiday home or an adventure park – book their services far in advance and visit these places during the other half of the year.
- Go through concerts, plays, events and festivals planned for the second half of the year, especially ones taking place during fall and summer months. Start thinking about them already and get your tickets as soon as possible.
- Many of your favourite musicians are struggling to get by. Don’t hesitate to ask them whether they would be interested in performing a pre-recorded virtual concert for you and your family members for a reasonable price. For instance, you could offer them €50 per 30 minutes. It’s definitely worth asking. Many of these musicians are also selling their albums. Make sure to search online or direct message them about it on Facebook.
- Purchase books. Electronic ones or on paper – it doesn’t matter. Buy them from our websites and our authors.
- Get your hands on all kinds of virtual gift cards, of course if they are available (and if they already aren’t, they soon will be).
- Groups, clubs, gyms, yoga lessons – even if you are not able to attend them, keep paying monthly fees if possible.
- If you happen to have a friend or an acquaintance who loses their job – maybe you could offer them one, even if it is part-time or only a one-time thing. A songwriter could help you come up with text passages used in marketing or improving your website, an event photographer could take outdoor pictures of your pets, an athlete could mow your lawn or prepare your firewood (win-win!).
- Even if you can’t use the services you have already paid for – do not ask for a refund if possible. Simply because you are a good Estonian citizen.
Thank you! There are at least a thousand more ideas. Let’s get through this hardship together, learn from it and come out of the whole situation even stronger than we were before.
PS. Thank you, Anella Veebel, from BECC for translation.
For the latest developments in Estonia, follow our special blog on coronavirus.
The opinions in this article are those of the author. Cover: A spa by the Pärnu beach. The image is illustrative (photo by Kaupo Kalda).
