In March 2021, the City of Järvenpää's Business Services asked local businesses how the interest rate virus and the various restrictions it has caused have affected their staff, sales and other operations. In three weeks, 51 responses were received, representing around 2% of all businesses in Järvenpää.
"However, the size distribution of the respondents' companies was in line with the overall distribution of companies - around 90% of Järvenpää's companies are SMEs, and the majority have fewer than 10 employees," says Marko Lehenberg, Director of Vitality.
Entrepreneurs' views on the corona situation
Two thirds of respondents said that the interest rate had reduced or even stopped their company's sales - but with little impact on employees. Of course, there have been lay-offs, but for the most part the situation was not as bad as initially feared. This was also helped by the fact that almost 60% of the companies surveyed had changed their business model or operations during the period of the rate.
Open-ended responses to the survey asked for clarifications on business changes. Project expert Essi Hämäläinen describes the harvest of responses. Many of them had to take a short breather at the beginning of the constraints and think about the next steps, which opened up the possibility of implementing ideas that might be a little out of the ordinary."
But the corona did not bring only negative things. In addition to new products and business ideas, some companies saw an increase in demand for basic services. New recruitments have also been made.
Business Rates Survey responses Winter 2021
KEUKEN advisory services to support businesses
The need for Keuke's business advisory services has increased with the koruna and the services are available to all businesses in Järvenpää. "We encourage entrepreneurs to contact Keuke with a low threshold, as sparring over ideas and approaches is extremely important now, and it is not worth staying alone," reminds Susanna Aramo, the city's Business Services Manager.
According to data from the Economic Intelligence Unit, the number of closures has been at the same level as in a normal year and, best of all, nearly 200 new businesses have been created in Järvenpää during the autumn and winter.
We welcome everyone to our business scene and to the Järvenpää area!
Further information City of Järvenpää, Business Services:
Marko Lehenberg, Director of Vitality, tel. 040 315 3590
Susanna Aramo, Business Services Manager, tel. 040 315 3130
Project Specialist Essi Hämäläinen, tel. 040 315 2246
[email protected]