An Unexpected Silver Lining of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Written by Sicily Kolbeck, Community Manager at Co-Balt Workspace
To say the least, 2020 was quite a year for a lot of folks. Many, many people from all over the world—particularly here in our home country—lost more than they ever expected to. In many ways, it’s been damaging and tragic beyond measure.
But as I look at the trends I’m seeing here at Co-Balt in recent months, I can’t help be struck by a certain silver lining in the pandemic.
Here’s what I mean.
Many People Made the Best of a Terrible Situation
As challenging as the past year has been for many people, it was also quite an eye-opening one, as well.
The beginning of the year made people take a pause, and that pause allowed quite a few of them to get some clarity.
In the last few months, we’ve seen an increase in virtual mailbox memberships. And as I’ve been talking to these new members about their needs and what led them to sign up for a virtual mailbox, I’m hearing a lot of consistency across the board.
Specifically, I’m hearing people saying…
“We just started our business.”
“Things are picking up but we aren’t quite ready yet to move into an office yet.”
“We need a professional space to have meetings and get mail that isn’t our house.”
Many of these people that come in are husbands and wives, longtime friends, neighbors.
These duos and trios come in with excitement and a sense of newfound professionalism.
For some, they talk to me about how this is the next step to help them balance their full-time job and their new business.
And for others, it’s for the business they started when they lost their job due to the pandemic and decided they’d rather get up, dust themselves off, and move forward in a new direction than to seek a new job elsewhere.
The Future Looks Bright for a Lot of Local Professionals
All of these conversations have been extremely exciting, inspiring, and encouraging for me.
Because as I’ve heard these stories more and more often, it’s started to put a rose-colored glaze over the pandemic.
These new companies were founded because their owners were able to pause and put into action an idea they’ve had for months and years, or sometimes one they developed as a new career path when everything they thought they knew changed in an instant.
They were able to take time to reflect on what their next steps would be.
They opted to not just survive but to actually put their plans and goals into action and transform them into businesses that would become their livelihoods.
This pandemic has given birth to a new wave of entrepreneurs who, up until now, had done the hard work and put their time in—but in a career they weren’t passionate about.
Now, they’re hitting the ground running with a strong work ethic, deep career experience, and a business idea they’re passionate about.
All because they were forced to take a pause.
Looking to Take the First Step Towards Finding a Home for Your Business?
If you’re among this wave of newly entrepreneurial professionals and are looking for a home for your business, get in touch today to learn more about how a flexible office space can be the perfect fit for your needs.
