Each month better than the last

The case for optimism and patience in 2021

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans August 29, 2005. Four years later in 2009 the Saints had a Super Bowl bound team, Entreprenuer magazine ran a cover story about the NOLA ecosystem and Launch Pad opened.

The time between the crisis and the rebound was four long years and continued for many years after. Our country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is starting, but it won't be quick, and it won't be easy.

The case for optimism and opportunity

There is much this January of 2021 that gives us reason to lift our heads up and to feel optimistic.

It’s the season of change in Washington, DC. My mother is getting her vaccination today as I write this. Meanwhile, my uncle is in the ICU battling COVID, lest we forget that the pandemic rage is on.

Anne and I have been determined to face this year with optimism. We're sick of the “poor me” story and ready to turn things around.

Dr. Fauci has said every month in 2021 will be better than the last.

I've been holding on to this message. Implicit within the optimism is that the recovery will be incremental. We know it will be into the summer, if not later, before our masks start coming off and we can gather again.

Once we shift our mindset to optimism versus constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, we can open up our mind to think about the opportunity that the tremendous societal change that we are all going through creates.

Our entrepreneurial mindset is programmed to seek out opportunity. That bed is fertile right now, and it's time to plant your seeds. Great business moves aren't made once the economy is in full swing. They are being made right now, when the economy is in turmoil.

As we search for opportunity in the recovery, the questions to ask yourself might be: “What is my life like today? What do I want my life like to be when the pandemic is behind us? How do I want to go back to work? How do I want to travel?”

Recognize the seismic societal shift that is happening right now and look for the opportunity in it. There's no doubt that there is a tremendous change afoot in how we work, travel, interact and live. Place the right bets and plant the right seeds during this time and you'll be rewarded during the recovery.

We are at the beginning of the recovery cycle, opportunity lies ahead. But recovery, as always, will take time.

I wish you patience and perseverance

For many small businesses like Launch Pad right now it’s an effort to simply hang on and stay alive. Hunker down and be a cockroach, so you can get through to the other side.

I started this post last week feeling optimistic about the year ahead. A day later, I was derailed by some economic realities our business faces.

I had to remind myself to be patient. The vaccine will take time. Our economic recovery will take time. Healing from our collective trauma will take time. We need to run this race with perseverance. 

When we think of all that happened during 2020 and the low points that we touched, we must hold on to the fact that in 2021 the road back will be just as long but it will be a road to recovery, and in recovery, there is opportunity.

Now is the time to take stock of where you are, create a vision and strategy for the future and begin planting the seeds.

Wishing you health, happiness, and successful recovery in 2021. With a hat tip to Dr. Fauci says, may each month this year be better than the last.