Handling the unexpected

There are many times in business and life when the unexpected happens.  You can plan and strategize the year to come, but sometimes life throws you an unanticipated curveball (or pandemic!).  These moments teach us that we can only control so much.  I often talk about "controlling what you can control" because so much of business is out of our hands.  You can sell your product to a vendor, but you don't know how your vendor will display it, you can pitch a magazine but you don't know what their focus is for that month.  You can only control what you can control.

In this spring season that no one planned for, the idea of control has been on my mind a lot.  It is hard to plan when you don't know what the future holds.  I have been using this time to sit back, be patient, and try to stay calm.  I need to control what I can control- my relationships with customers, my relationship with my community and family, and my plan for my employees.  I can offer support and encouragement to friends and fellow entrepreneurs, I can clean my office (!), I can do my part to try to keep this virus from spreading, and I can try to stay positive.  We can only control what we can control.  Hopefully on the flip side of this unexpected world event, the community, connectivity and positivity that we have all created will lead to new business opportunity and growth. How we choose to wait it out is something we can control.

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