The owner of a local business selling gifts and home accessories in Bexleyheath said they thought "they'd never open their doors again" after Covid-19 struck, and has since been on a "really tough" road to recovery.
And key to their plan is 'thinking outside the box', with the Bexley store unveiling a new tearoom as an extra reason for people to visit, as well as a place for their elderly customers to reconnect.
Charmain Botton, 50, said they were now trying to offer something unique to help them survive, and like all local businesses, with odds stakced against them, they were "fighters."
Charmain and partner have owned gift shop Flutterbyes since 2008, starting in Bromley and currently owning stores in Bexleyheath, Ashford and opens for three months in Bluewater Shopping Centre.
"It was really really tough for the business during that first lockdown - we thought we'd never open our doors again.
"Then the furlough came through and that allowed us to make sure all the girls working for us had some income, and since then we've jumping from Covid-19 loans and recovery grants to just keep us up.
"But it's been a very big struggle. We do sell online, but we're one of those businesses that relies on the customer to come in-store and see and pick what they like.
The shop owner continued: "Obviously Christmas is a big part of the year for the business, and we lost November, normally the busiest month of the year, to lockdown.
"That was a big blow, but then we reopened on December 4, hoping to get some Christmas trade.
"The key for us when we were closed was trying to keep a positive mindset.
"We spend the days trying to keep busy, rearranging something or painting this or that. It was working all day with no income, but we tried out best, and then we geared up for Christmas in full force.
"We had the store fully decorated in Christmas decorations, and in those few weeks of December we made some sales, got rid of some stock.
"And then on December 20 we were suddenly closed again. The next four days were usually the busiest four days of the year as everyone who needs gifts can no longer buy online.
"It was brutal, and all this meant we were unable to get rid of a lot of Christmas stock. We didn't come close to making up for the revenue we'd lost.
"We lost the Boxing Day sales too, and we're now stuck with heaps of Xmas stock until at least October this year."
Charmain said: "It wasn't just one thing, it was the chain of events building up, it make it such a struggle for all small businesses."
"When the pandemic happened we spoke to our landlords, suppliers and all, and we told them honestly we had zero income.
"The first few days after we reopened in 2021 were very quiet, everyone was nervous to go back out, though it has picked up since then.
"However it's just not enough, the level of foot traffic is nowhere close to what it was in 2019, and it was nowhere near where it needed to be, hence the need for some new ideas."
Charmain said all local businesses were having to get creative to survive, and they were trying to think of ways to add value to the store.
"We will never make the money back, it is just lost, no point worrying about it.
"And so now we're just trying to climb up that mountain, get past the setbacks. Surviving is the goal and I'm sure it's the same for lots of small businesses.
"But we're fighters. I think most local businesses are, you have to be passionate about it to have success, we're adaptable and that's how we survive.
"And that's so important. We don't want the same shops in every single shopping centre, the same line up everywhere you go.
"We need local shops like ours with some quirkiness and character."
Charmain continued: "We've been putting some stock on eBay to give us some profit.
"One of our other losses was that of selling furniture, which we housed and shipped like a conveyor belt from our backroom.
"We have quite a large store in Bexley, and the backroom had just been sitting there as storage space during lockdown.
"We wanted to think outside the box and considered why should people want to come to the store? And as someone who likes tea and cake, we came up with the idea of installing a team room inside the back of the shop.
"And last week it opened, the shopping centre and council were happy to help. We're not expensive, but we're stripped things back very old fashioned.
"There's no technology or big scree, just a cosy and nice environment. It's going well so far, word of mouth is still spreading but we've had several return customers."
"Everyne is welcome here, but quite a lot of our customers are older, and they're so lovely we want to look after them.
"We play Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra all day, and they love it, the tearoom offers them a chance to connect again.
"They've struggled so much in the last year or so, it's been rough and we're still waiting to see a couple of our old regulars.
"We're happy as we're bringing something new to Bexleyheath, and it might not make us a ton of money but it will hopefully get some people through the door and enjoying Flutterbyes.
"A lot of the elderly residents are still a bit scared and cautious, most of them know someone who's passed away in the pandemic, and so to feel valued is really important for them, and we're doing our best."
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