Now Shenzhen | April 8, 2022
When we chose to take over Nowshenzhen late last year, we knew we had our work cut out for us. It’s been well over two years of struggle against this virus. At this point we can hardly remember the ‘normal’ of years past. The ‘new normal,' and the constant struggle to define, adapt, and discern just how long it will last for has been our sole focus here at Nowshenzhen.
Shenzhen, the city we love and live in, has collectively been going through its own intense transition in response to Covid-19. This latest round of lockdowns gave us some time to reflect on the situation and on feedback we’ve been receiving from our community over the past several months. We felt a collective desire to connect and share within our ranks. That need, and our belief that our platform would enable us to satisfy it, is what inspired this initiative.
What follows are a collection of voices in our community discussing how they and their businesses have reacted and adjusted during these turbulent times. None of us are alone in this. On the contrary, we here at NowShenzhen firmly believe that together we will overcome these trials and ultimately grow more resilient as a result of them. We hope you’ll find these contributions informative, useful, cathartic, and dare we say comforting.
Our deepest thanks for the candid disclosure of our contributors.
Thank you and enjoy.
-David, Mike, and the NowShenzhen Team
Straight From The Experts’ Minds
Benjamin
Sherry
Anna
Ronny
Beatrice
Fabiola
Matthew
Michael
Benjamin Eckhart - QSI International School Shenzhen
How has Covid affected your business recently?
With COVID holding Shenzhen in its unrelenting grip, wide parts of the city have been ordered to lockdown and close non-essential facilities and businesses. In addition for community safety, schools are holding classes online for the time being.
QSI Shenzhen has heard the call and followed suit, with director John Shirley asking all staff members to stay at home as much as possible to help protect the community, and lead to a quicker relief of lockdown measures.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
QSI is staying on course
Despite the difficult circumstances, QSI is dedicated to its mission of providing high-quality international education to all its students. Teachers have adapted their lesson plans to suit online class needs and make sure students continue to progress. Students are provided materials on multiple interactive platforms that allow them to attend their classes and expand their skills online.
Whenever possible, we are sending the students physical supplies to help with their work as well. This way, our students thrive even in difficult times and have created great work such as little habitats (see below). Through all age groups, we are maintaining age-appropriate learning climates and make sure that the students are guided to success. From the preschoolers, learning shapes and colors to our IB/AP students wrapping up their school career and preparing for greater things to come soon.
Braving the Storm
Since staying at home constantly is a challenge for everyone, staff and students alike, QSI also makes a big effort to alleviate the stress and break through the monotony. The school is providing online counseling and individual support for teachers and students. Our counselors also share methods with parents to keep themselves and the children in a balanced and healthy mood. Students and staff are given breathing room where needed, so that everybody can be happy and motivated.
Since QSI is a tight-knit community, we are also continuing our special days and events online. Our Parent University, where we inform and advise parents about important decisions they have to take when it comes to choosing courses or how to apply to universities, was a great success. And take a look at our birthday celebrations, dance contests and assemblies; we are always up for some fun and share happiness where we can. Some students even wrote letters to say ‘thank you’ to the community workers for their tireless effort at the testing stations. Times may be tough, but there is no community more committed than QSI Shenzhen. Go Dragons!
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
While being on lockdown is never fun, I have tried to make the best of it. My dogs loved having me around all day and since we could still walk around the compound, it turned out to be less difficult than for the unfortunate people who were sealed in their apartments. Like many others, I used the lockdown to step up my cooking game. My Dutch oven saw ample use and mine and my fiancée’s stomachs thought it was Christmas all over again. Moroccan lamb legs, sweet potato-quinoa chili or Italian Sugo di Maiale replaced the regular meal prep and it made the time at home so much easier.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
Times may be tough, but there is no community more committed than QSI Shenzhen. Go Dragons!
Sherry Zeng - International School of Nanshan Shenzhen
How has Covid affected your business recently?
After returning from the Chinese New Year Holiday, we were advised to go straight to online learning instead of returning to Campus. We had mixed feelings as we were all looking forward to going back to school. Usually late February and March are event heavy months. We have our Global English week, French Culture Week, Hour of Code, Science Week, as well as Visual Art Exhibitions, all planned to happen during those months. However, we had to change our approach and postpone some of them.
Our dedicated teaching staff switched to online mode straight away. However, it created a lot more work for them. Massive screen time was a challenge for both staff and students. The transition was critical.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
One of our Keys to successfully navigating these changes and reacting well, is planning ahead. Everyone in our community plays a key role. As we value our partnership with our parents by listening, communicating, and continually improving, we could adapt and react to the situation really quickly.
On the first day of online learning, we planned a temporary schedule for the day and had all day meetings with parents of all students - from kindergarten to high school. We discussed the best way to set our online learning schedule and collected feedback from our parents. Then every week, we have been sending out surveys for continual improvement. The strong relationship we have with our parents forms the success of teaching and learning at ISNS. Especially, when our students are learning at home during this special time.
Based on feedback, reflection and a continuous improvement mindset, we have adapted more technology, changed our weekly schedule to meet the best needs - especially for our Kindergarten families. When issues are happening, our supporting teams can react really fast. We have Technology integration, Counseling, English as Additional Language, Student Support, as well as our teaching teams all working together to ensure our students continue to thrive and make great learning progress.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
For me personally, there are 3 things I found myself adjusting to accommodate Covid-19.
First is to be patient and calm. It can be overwhelming sometimes when you spend your whole day on your laptop working and dealing with two kids under 10 year old. I felt the calmer I am, the better I can cope with the situation. It is always in your mind.
This is a time when we need a very high level of self-awareness and self-management. Please find healthy ways to let out your frustrations. Try to find the positive and focus on that. There are many things that may be out of our control, but our emotions are the one thing that belongs solely to us.
Second is to find myself a habit to do. Since 2019, I started learning piano with my son. Covid gives me enough reasons to continue. I do find peace when I am practicing. It is one thing I enjoy learning.
Of course, a good movie or some Netflix time can definitely help too. I started to enjoy comedy movies, talk shows and series. It, is the best way to relax quickly instead of a glass of wine.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
I do think everything happens in our life for a reason. See it as part of your journey and embrace it. We are still considering ourselves lucky as we have a chance to live in a covid free community.
Anna Hu - JW Marriott Shenzhen
How has Covid affected your business recently?
JW Marriott Shenzhen is a luxury business hotel located in the heart of Futian business district, as a result of the pandemic, many of our customers have canceled or postponed their business trips to Shenzhen. In addition, we've seen business lunch and dinner attendance drop dramatically.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
In response to the situation, we provided free and fast covid testing for our present and upcoming guests; we also revised our operating hours to maintain a high level of order and safety.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
I strongly believe in Shenzhen's efforts to combat Covid-19. I adopted a work from home lifestyle and continue to make a concerted effort to manage my daily life well. I've learned to enjoy, and dream of a better future that includes more working from home.
Ronny Verdoodt - A Heart For China
How has Covid affected your business recently?
In the past 2 years, our volunteer organization operated in a difficult environment due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020. Many of the places we visited over the years were closed or in lockdown to guarantee safety for everyone, especially for the inhabitants of these centers. Our volunteers visit nursing homes for the elderly to interact with these elders and still make them feel important in our community. At the same time, we visit and entertain children with a disability in certain centers in Shenzhen on a very regular basis - once a week. Now, at the end of March, we still have not yet resumed our activities which were on hold since the first week of January.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
Although "A Heart For China" has had its program for events during the past years, independently from the official Shenzhen Volunteer Organizations, we still applaud when our members interact with the other organizations to help where they can. This was not different in the recent outbreak in Shenzhen. Many volunteers supported their community by helping their fellow men. Even though I am not in China for the moment, I will follow up and stay in contact with our team and different centers to have a clear view when they open again and we can resume our activities. We are satisfied with how the Shenzhen Government, China, keeps on top of this to control further outbreaks, and we see that the priority is safety for its population.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
The living style has changed compared with the time before 2020 and a return to the new normal proved that nothing at the moment is normal anymore. I appreciate the things that I have at the moment compared with a time that I took all for granted.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
Although I am not in China at the moment I am looking for a window to return back to Shenzhen because I miss the city and my family.
Beatrice Vigano - Pro-1 HR Consultants Ltd.
How has Covid affected your business recently?
The business had already been affected 2 years ago when China and the rest of the world stopped. The entire industry and we had to change both approach and strategy. Working remotely already substituted in-person meetings and a 'conventional' working environment a few months before the outbreak of Covid-19. In fact, we realized that we could still operate much more efficiently with a leaner team and better communication even working remotely. Covid-19 has given all of us the opportunity to rethink who we are and how we want to run our businesses.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
For us, the past 2 years and not only 2 months have been a period of reinvention. We've had to make some hard decisions, but out of those choices have come some big learnings for us as a company and individuals.
And for many startups in the service sector, we are still facing a hard time, especially because our business is focused on foreigners, and Chinese travel policy since March 2020 is not helping us or other similar companies who always need new employees to facilitate the staff turnover above all in the teaching field.
Another interesting take away from Covid-19 has been the way we have redefined what it means to "work" and how to approach this market. We have spent and we are still investing time thinking about how our company is set up, how we run the business, and what kind of flexibility we have.
For this reason, we are thinking about new steps to help us undertake new challenges. The market will probably never be the same, even if the border and international flights situation will come back as it was in 2018. Employers have different requirements, and employees have higher expectations for salary and working conditions. Covid-19 caused a 'migration' of people from different provinces in north China or second-tier cities to look for new opportunities in places like Shenzhen or Shanghai.
We cannot predict what is happening this year or in the future, but we will try to observe the situation, and the market for a better change.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
Covid-19 had a clear effect on the business and me. I have shifted from a close mentality to an open view of the environment around me. We are all living in a different day and age today than we were 2 years ago or even 2 months ago. We have rethought the way we work and we live our lives.
I think and hope I grew as a professional and as a person. I always tried to take on any opportunity and to learn from different experiences. That's the reason why I am still in China even though it hasn't been easy at all. Like many of us, I haven't had the chance to go back home and see my family and friends for more than 2 years now. But Covid-19 has changed my life in the Shenzhen community. I have started a small sports group which has weekly meetings, I meet more people, and strengthen many friendships. I can feel now I am part of this city and Shenzhen is part of me too.
And this has influenced me as a professional too. Despite the difficulties, we are working as a team and getting ready to embrace new scenarios and new plans for the upcoming months.
Dr. Sayyed Avigdor - Indianspice Management Company
How has Covid affected your business recently?
Covid has undoubtedly become a new shade of our lives over the last 2 years. It comes and goes like a swiftly flowing brook and covers everything with an eerie silence. The silence is broken by the determination and hawk-like sharp spirit of winning over the obstacle. This is what my firm has been doing.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
Covid or any other pandemic does have adverse effects on the bottom line of business, mine is no exception. As mentioned above, this has become a periodic instance and therefore, contingency plans were always there prepared for all sorts of scenarios. In hospitality industry, especially if one is running a restaurant with expertise in niche cuisine, an even of this magnitude effects :
- Bottomline
- Market share in short term
- Psychological well-being of all those who are involved.
With the recent lock-down of the city, amongst all the effects, those 3 stood out amongst the deck.
As mentioned in the previous answer, COVID has become a periodic occurrence. Therefore, we at our firm prepared contingency plans keeping purview of all sorts of eventualities.
With the early onset of new cases in mid-February, we paid attention to stocks of our ingredients and replenished accordingly, so as the business can be kept running till the very last moment. So, after this, there weren't any major hiccups in running the business. Starting from the first week of March, a decrease in footfall was noticed and taking that into consideration, the menu was redesigned to better reflect the changing dynamics of the restaurant industry--"Take Away." Due to this, we were able to satisfy the needs of our new and old patrons far and wide in Shenzhen who weren't able to venture out all the way to Shekou.
The menu was redesigned once again, when the community where the head chef of our restaurant is staying was put under lockdown for the period of fortnight. The restaurant went on offering take away with limited selection of dishes, and was once again supported by our patrons, who over the period of time, have become a family in this big metropolis.
When the week-long lock-down was announced, the restaurant had to pull down the shutter as all staff members were in lock-down as well. Nevertheless, this has been seen by us before and we came triumphant out of it. This time also we shall be coming out victoriously, and shall be serving with the same warmth and care with which we have been since last decade and two.
Fabiola Benitez - Global Friendship
How has Covid affected your business recently?
As an event and service platform, Covid has definitely affected our organization and our current plans. We have had to postpone the annual International Women’s Day Celebration until late April. We are hoping things can settle down for then. If not, we will just have to wait until we are able to! As well, we have had to halt our plans for any future events since it is just too hard to plan, and then having the risk it will get canceled.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
We have had to cancel some plans, accept the situation, and make sure our community stays strong. It’s important to check-in on our members, see how they are doing, and not let these uncertain times get us down too. We can get through this together, and support one another. Support local businesses, provide mental health resources, and stay positive for when things do open up.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
I have felt more so than ever, to expect the unexpected. It's normal to feel down, to feel upset if one of the plans, events has had to be canceled but also I have learned that with a bit of time, this passes and onto the next project! There are always opportunities to create, and that is what I try to focus on.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
Remember to check-up on each other, provide support if someone is in need, and remain thankful for what you, we have. This too shall pass.
Matthew H - Pandora Party SZ
How has Covid affected your business recently?
As the owner of an events company in China... Covid has hit me and my team very hard. Our business is literally about getting people together... which of course is the opposite of what's needed in a pandemic. The moment there are any covid restrictions implemented, those of us working in the entertainment industry are the first to get shut down. It has been a very challenging couple years to say the least.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
We have survived through this pandemic (up until now... still plenty of time for us to perish. lol)... simply put, by not giving up; and thanks to all of our loyal supporters from over the past 6 years. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I went home to visit my family in Canada, for what was meant to be a 3 week trip, turned into 12 months away, as I was caught on the outside after the border closed. Thanks to the wonderful world wide web coupled with WeChat, and the assistance of my team in China, PandoraParties was still able to pull off 4 events, despite my being 12,000 km away. One of which was our Halloween party with over 300 guests... and our New Year's Event with over 500 guests! Never give up, work your butt off, develop and maintain positive relationships with people, and you can persevere.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
Well, the adjustments… I, and everyone else have made, were largely not by choice. It's hard to really know how I've grown, but I'd like to think this pandemic experience has taught me something... if nothing else, at least that we are all in this together, despite the world being quite divided on many elements of the pandemic, and how it has been handled. In the end, a virus will not select who to infect based on our beliefs.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
May we make it through this without dying from the virus... or starving to death by avoiding it.
Mike Michelini - Global From Asia / Shadstone
How has Covid affected your business recently?
Pre-covid, a decent percentage of our income was in-person events and in-person training and consulting. At first we thought it would be a minor delay due to covid, but 2 years later and still going on, we have had to fully adjust to being an online team - not just for our team (we have been online now for 5+ years), but for our clients, and partners as well.
How has your business changed/adapted/reacted to the situation?
How have I adjusted? How have I NOT adjusted? In the past, much of the income in our businesses (Global From Asia + Shadstone consulting) was generated from in-person events and in-person consulting and training. We haven’t had our annual “Cross Border Summit” event since October 2019!
So faced with the reality of unpredictable lockdowns - all our efforts has gone towards online business, and ways to generate online income. This has been via becoming an Amazon seller (again!) with Excalibur Brothers brand case study at the GFA community, and focusing more on services for sellers than the community and training side.
Even at GFA, my wife has started to create an online learning platform for our kids, and a growing network of other children under the sub-brand “GFA Kids”.
Not to mention, we joined as a new partner in this very NowShenzhen media business. This is a turnaround story where we are adapting to the “new normal” and working with businesses to help them adjust to the online transformation.
How have you personally grown and adjusted to accommodate Covid-19's effects on you?
Silence is the best form of meditation and reflection. And the last couple years have had more than enough time for that. Believe it or not, it has made me come to realize I am an introvert - and while that has a negative connotation - it is what it is. Need to play on our strengths.
Any other thoughts you'd like to share on the topic?
All in all, life is totally different. Sure, I can sulk and complain about various factors - or I can deal with it, adjust and come out of this nightmare 10x better than when I went in. I choose to adapt and grow.
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