“In these uncertain times…”
That seems to be the intro for every commercial and email we’ve been seeing or hearing lately. COVID-19 is a national tragedy - one that’s flipped our worlds upside down. With our families, friends, and clients farther away than ever, we’re taking a moment to find the silver linings of this economic crisis.
A few weeks ago, we wrote a post about how COVID-19 will change our company. And the answers were: a lot, but not that much. It was a vague answer to a difficult question but the future is unpredictable. Now that we are 50 days into our self-quarantine, we have a better understanding of how bright our future looks.
#1: We have seen a dramatic client decrease.
The downside:
- We aren’t able to help as many people as we’d like to.
- Our incoming revenue has taken a hit.
The upside:
- We are able to work much more closely with clients, and provide even better experiences.
- Our smaller projects have received shorter timelines, and our longer projects have received more attention to testing.
- As a team, we’re clarifying our target clients and long-term creative goals
- We have had more time to focus on our internal projects, such as preparing our new office (it’s amazing), working on new CMS solutions, and finally getting to some backlogged website maintenance. Oh, and writing more blog posts!
#2: We are working remotely.
The downside:
- We aren’t able to have the daily chit-chat that energizes us all.
- Our team happy-hours have been put on hold.
- Working from home isn’t always the most productive work environment.
The upside:
- Our team has truly mastered the art of self-sufficiency. Everyone is managing their own tasks, and understanding the value of timely deliveries.
- We have remained connected through Zoom, Slack, email, and Wrike in order to maintain a sense of collaboration.
- We have figured out schedules and routines that work best for everyone. Payge takes a long walk with Ellie and Emmery every day at 5. Kat has been watching the sunrises and sunsets. Colleen has been enjoying cherished moments with her boyfriend on their morning walks. Michelle has been tapping into different creative outlets. Matt really hasn’t changed much, but he’s enjoying not having FOMO anymore.
- We are lucky enough to have a business that can work from almost wherever with little interruption.
#3: Our team adapted to the changes.
The downside:
- We don’t want working from home to be the reality of our company forever.
The upside:
- We have learned that our team is dedicated to our success.
- It’s a proud moment as a business owner to realize that your company can function with or without you.
- We hired the right people. Our team continues to amaze us every day with their resilience and their poise, despite living in a world of uncertainty.
While these little “bright sides” may not seem like anything monumental, they have instilled in us a sense of faith and confidence in our ability to come out of this stronger, more connected, and with a fine-tuned approach to our client work.
