#Forgotten Ltd Campaign
#Forgotten Ltd Campaign
During lockdown we’ve seen many local businesses adapting and learning but Georgina Broadhurst could never have imagined she would start a campaign that would make national coverage on mainstream television news and major newspapers in less than a month
What local business do you run?
I run an award-winning specialist interior shutter company called Just Shutters Surrey, with my husband Simon. We are based in Walton on Thames and operate across Surrey, Middlesex and South West London. We design, manufacture and install premium custom-made shutters. This is our fourth-year trading and we have built up a loyal clientele with high levels of repeat orders and recommendations. We also work closely with several developers and interior designers and have established relationships with a hand-picked list of affiliates. Our business shut when the lockdown started, we furloughed our 2 Fitters and that is where my story begins.
What is #ForgottenLtd?
#ForgottenLtd is a grass roots campaign calling for fair and equal support for small business owners, who have fallen through the cracks of the government support schemes launched in response to CoVid19. Small companies do not qualify for any meaningful government support and we believe firmly that taking on debt is not a viable solution.
Without support for small businesses and their owners we run the risk of catastrophic negative impact on our local communities across the UK. Currently many business owners are surviving on zero personal income and if they are home based, mobile or work from a shared space they will not have qualified for a grant either. If these businesses are allowed to fail, we are putting millions of jobs at risk. The repercussions will be felt across the broader economy and the damage to the supply chain will affect big business too.
How did you start it?
It started on 9th April when my path crossed with Philippa Lurcock in a Facebook support group that Philippa had founded, for business owners like us. We decided to start a public lobbying campaign and #ForgottenLtd was born. What started with two of us, quickly grew and we are now a part of a hugely passionate, dedicated, and talented team of 10 volunteers spanning the UK.
What has it achieved so far?
We have generated major news coverage including BBC1 10pm News, The Sun, ITV, The Express, LBC, Daily Mail, Sky News and made short films and some fantastic animations and social media assets. We have already trended on Twitter in the UK and have over 5.2k followers on Twitter and 7k followers on Facebook. We have received a pledge of support from many MPs and gained endorsements from trade bodies, chambers and corporate stakeholders.
What have you learnt from this?
This project has genuinely renewed my faith in mankind. Our community of like-minded entrepreneurs continues to provide almost every skill and contact we could require. I am astounded at the generosity and dedication of the team. We all feel empowered and realise that you really can achieve great things with focus and passion. Working with a remote team of strangers has its major challenges but we have found our rhythm now. Organisation is imperative and we learned early on that it is not about ‘To Do Lists’ or you all become busy fools. Instead we carved out a strategy and identified core goals, which we review and refine regularly. Lastly make sure every goal or project has one named owner to avoid confusion, duplication or missed opportunities.
What are the next steps and how can people get involved?
If you do just one thing after reading this article, please sign the parliamentary petition, if this reaches 100,000 signatures it will be debated in parliament. Please don’t forget to verify your signature, the email confirmation often ends up in a junk folder, and without that all important click you signature won’t be counted
If you would like to find out more about the campaign, visit www.ForgottenLtd.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @ForgottenLtd.
01932 500 270
You can book a no obligation design visit with Just Shutters Surrey.
They are also offering home measuring kits and virtual design visits at this time.
