From the Business Godparent

Looking back at 2020

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So… what will 2020 be remembered for? I ask because perspective matters here. It could, of course, be remembered as the year of Brexit, the year we couldn’t visit family, and the year we saw the biggest dip in business activity ever. However, there are other ways of looking at it. For example, on a personal level it could be the year you started exercising in lockdown, learnt how to make fresh pasta, or reinvented your business.

I have often said nothing can knock an entrepreneur down for long, even a pesky virus – a true entrepreneur will always bounce back. And this year, 2020, has proven that more than ever. Take the restaurant owner who can’t make his restaurant work with social distancing requirements… what does he do? He opens a pop up restaurant in his car park and then expands the business into a farm building. All in a matter of months! Or consider the personal trainer whose gym is shut down… what does he do? He takes his offering online and heads out into his garden with each client. Lateral thinking in a fast-changing world; the inspiring characteristic of the entrepreneurial mindset.

I’d like to suggest, therefore, that 2020 be remembered as the year entrepreneurial spirit flourished. And I reckon entrepreneurs deserve a big thank you alongside the NHS key workers. Creative business people need support, and as business godparents it’s our mission to support our clients and contacts wherever we can. So, to kick off 2021 here is our 9th edition of The Business Godparent. May the coming year be filled with entrepreneurial ideas for your business too.

ROGER EDDOWES
BUSINESS GODPARENT