By Karla Dunn, Program Manager
March 16, 2020
I think it is safe to say that we are living in a time in our country that is unfamiliar. Americans have civil liberties and freedoms that we don’t even consider because it’s our way of life. It’s our culture.
Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, our known liberties will be affected to some degree or another. Moving about freely, shopping, dining, etc. are at risk of being taken away for an uncertain period of time. Being required to self-quarantine at home for weeks on end is coming to try to ‘flatten the curve’ of the virus epidemic. People are panic buying and hoarding because there’s not enough information to understand what is coming. It’s testing our mettle as citizens, it’s testing our mettle as business owners even more. Is this stressful? Yes. Is this scary? For sure. Can we make it though? Absolutely!
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” If you own a business and you never considered yourself to be creative, it’s time to shift your perspective.
Oftentimes, we do what comes easy to us, for obvious reasons. But in desperate times, we need to dig down deep and examine what else is inside of us. What other abilities and talents do we possess to create another income stream? There are several issues that have come about as a result of this crisis; childcare needs, food access, and mobility are just a few. Most successful businesses are an answer to a problem. So the question is; how can we use our current business model (or with slight modifications), to address these problems? How can we modify our current products and services to be an answer to the problems at hand? Can we find ways to collaborate with other small business owners? Are there synergies that we can capitalize on to help keep our businesses afloat?
MORTAR is working hard to help our alumni navigate through these challenging circumstances. We can do it if we all work together. It may not seem like it while we’re in the midst of the crisis, but good can actually come out of this situation. It will require creativity, collaboration and a lot of confidence, but we can do it!
With so many national and international changes happening, as a business owner it is important to have creative skills that allow you to adjust no matter what's going on around you. #KarlaDunn #MORTARStaffBlog #WeAreMORTAR Click To Tweet
