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Needs to be in reply to @danstuff IMO
(and you have my sympathy, and your Brother. Awful timing for you both)
branwen-
I thought it wouldn't be necessary to say it, but of course I have immense sympathy for people running businesses which won't be viable in the short term. I hope the government will take reasonable steps to limit the damage and suffering caused by the current situation. My point was merely that once this is over, hard while it will be for now, there's no reason why the small businesses, football clubs, theatres and music venues can't reopen and start again. I'm not suggesting it will be easy, because it won't. But throwing our collective hands in the air and shouting 'we're doomed, life will never be the same again' isn't going to help. Nor does it have to be true.
Brommers
Not posting this out of self pity as I am perfectly aware of how privileged I am.
However, early this year I stumped up the lions share of my life savings to launch a business venture that I have been planning for over 5 years. Just felt like the right time to do it.
The arse has fallen out. Several of the suppliers I depend on are not going to exist soon. I have no income and will likely lose a very significant amount of money that will have a big impact on me for years to come.
I'll claw my way back to where I was before but this is a real hammer blow. I had my heart set on making a success of this.
My brother launched a new hotel and hospitality company in January. Dead in the water already.
Multiply our stories by several million business owners and that's where we are.
All I can do is hold out hope that I'll be able to save something back and give it another go when the dust settles. This is not good for my crippling anxiety.