Business Lockdown: Design director Smirnov asks government ‘not to interfere’

Editor’s Note: Ukraine’s businesses are struggling after the country introduced nationwide restrictions on movement and travel starting on March 12. The restrictions have been strengthened since then and are set to last until at least May 22. Most businesses are closed with employees working remotely or not working at all. The exceptions include supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, parcel delivery services. The borders are closed to most forms of traffic, except Ukrainians returning by foot or by car. Most domestic transportation is closed or heavily restricted. Estimates range on how deeply the ensuing recession will harm Ukraine. The Kyiv Post talked with entrepreneurs about their daily struggles, asking how the quarantine has affected their ventures and what they are planning to do once it’s lifted.

We want to hear your personal story of survival during this national lockdown. Please contact us at [email protected].

Vladimir Smirnov
design director at Spiilka Design Büro, a creative agency based in Kyiv, which designs brandings, mobile applications and websites.

“It’s hard to make a prognosis concerning our losses. For now, we have a few projects on hold, but quite a promising number of active projects. Our new business activity is neither great nor bad. We have some promising (client) requests, but we don’t know if they will convert into real agreements. Overall, it’s a usual situation for our type of business.

“Also, many potential clients ask for a lower price. For now, however, we don’t give discounts on our work. We want to wait and monitor how the situation changes.

“So far, we haven’t had to make tough decisions. We are a small design bureau of six people, and our motto says it all:  ‘Less is more.’ So we don’t have a big office – we work in a coworking. We don’t have any debts, and everybody is useful in our team.

“We didn’t cut the salaries, but we discuss the situation inside the team, and we have Plan A and Plan B: If the situation doesn’t change and we don’t have any new projects, we keep going till the middle of summer. Then, we have a reserve for another three months, but we will have to cut salaries.

“For now, we work from home, but it’s not a big deal for designers. It’s demanding more time to communicate via Slack or Zoom, but we manage. If the quarantine is prolonged, we will leave the coworking and continue to work from home.

“Before the lockdown, we were one of the only remote design teams on the market, but for now, all design companies in the world are remote, so it opens the market for us, as it’s getting more and more common. (So) we are looking for more international projects.

“What makes us going despite the difficulties is maybe the habit of working in crisis situations. We had a tough time in 2008, 2013, and 2014, and now we have a tough time again. We can only smile and do our best.

“Some of us have been in business since 2008, and over time, we’ve learned one lesson – you can rely only on yourself and your teammates.

“We have a few messages for the government: Don’t make the errors of the (ex-President Viktor) Yanukovych government – adopt the so-called “Anti-Kolomoisky” law (aimed at stopping controversial oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky from getting his assets back) and get the fund from the International Monetary Fund. And please don’t pressure the local businesses, we already have enough problems without you interfering.

“As for the business community, the message is simple: Come what may, stay safe, and do your duty.”