As the new year begins, people from all over the world face vastly changing dilemmas. From small to large business owners, everyone was and is still being affected by this pandemic. Many tough sacrifices were required but people see a light at the end of this tunnel. No one knows what the post-pandemic world will be but people are hopeful for a revival in all aspects, personally and professionally. Stories of some of these people are compiled here:
Ashlie Ordonez and Her Spa in Denver
She is the owner of the Bare Bar Studio which is a spa in Denver. Ashlie had to sell her wedding ring to pay the bills to keep her business in the running. She knows later in the year, she’ll get to see good days but, in the meantime, there is bound to be some struggling and lean months.
Vinay Patel and His Chains of Nine Hotels
Mr. Patel hopes that the coming year will bring stability. He is looking further in the future as he says that 2022 will be the year where we will see the true potential of the vaccine. Mr. Patel manages a chain of nine hotels in Maryland and Virginia.
Chief Executive for North America at Accenture
Jimmy Etheredge is the chief executive for North America at Accenture. Mr. Etheredge is optimistic but says that this year is not going to be a walk in the park. He anticipated that many changes will turnaround but some changes, like people who had started to work remotely or companies who had shifted to cloud technology, will stay. People will not go back to how things were before because the pandemic had rushed the technology and ten months of progress made during the pandemic exceeded ten years of technological success.
Chief Executive of Bank of America
Brian Moynihan says that there is a part of the economy that is suffering. People want to go to work but can’t because there’s no work open.
Unemployment: increase or decrease?
The economy is in better shape than it was when the pandemic first struck. The first few months were hard and unemployment had soared to a dangerous level. But now, the economy has stabilized and somewhat, the unemployment rate has decreased, too. Some sectors of business are profiting really well but some are in limbo. The old rules from the pre-pandemic state do not apply in these times and many are wondering what will happen in the future and how the post-pandemic world will materialize.
Nevertheless, people have adapted. Business owners have found a way to keep their sales growing. Restaurant owners have reduced the number of people allowed at a time. Many have opted for a more outdoor approach for the meals instead of managing indoors. People did whatever worked for them in their own way. Granted, for some, the vaccine arrived too late. They had to negotiate and struggle a lot.
Some had to cut down their business franchises, some had to cut a part of their company to focus on one major area that was thriving. People believe that it’s going to be a long wait and the conditions will get worse before they have any chance of getting better. But things will take a turn for the better in the near future and hopefully, things will be normal, again.
