Originally published in “This Month in Elgin May 2020”

A recent Facebook post began with the words “I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.”

For some of us, our jobs means we have to go to work every day, constantly under threat of something insidious and invisible. We then have to bring the same threat back home to our family. For others, this is a time where our jobs have moved to a home office and taken on an urgent note, at the same time while we try to homeschool our children. And for still others, it's a pleasant opportunity to spend more time with family and bake bread. We need to understand that for some of us, this situation means merely surviving everyday, and for others this could be an opportunity to create something new.

Since my column deals mainly with how our businesses function with relation to the internet, I'd like to talk about some of the successes I've seen coming out of this period of time.

My favourite local chiropractor Dr. Peggy Malone, has been talking for awhile now of including an online model to her business that would allow her more flexibility and travel. Obviously being a chiropractor is a hands-on profession which requires her to be always physically present, and so setting up a plan that would give her some flexibility into the future. With the forced closure of her clinic, she's spent the last few weeks setting up courses online and building the marketing she needs to bring her services to the wider public. This was always her master plan, but before it was something that was more of a “I'll get to it later”. Now that we are in an extended period of “later”, she's been able to use this time to create what she's always wanted in the first place!

Another client of mine was building a website for his comprehensive service offering. In a weird twist of fate, we launched his site the same week he was laid off. Even though this new entrepreneurial journey was originally intended to be led in conjunction with full-time employment, at least he now has something in place with which to build an audience and income. Without a plan like this, his new circumstances could have been much more dismal.

My last example involves a vegan “cheez” company for whom I created their branding, again merely weeks before its owner was prevented from officially launching the product because of the Covid 19 crisis. Since she was now sitting on a significant amount of product, she decided to drop off samples to local vegan fans who were fairly active on social media. The response was so incredibly positive that she was asked to quickly build an online site so people could order items for delivery. Although this wasn't her original plan as a sales channel, she now has the ability to move product during an unusual time.

In other words, this may be a time to find that silver lining if you are able. And don't forget to take full advantage of the tools we have in our community, which you can always learn more about through our Chamber of Commerce and other channels.