Seven Great Things To Come Out Of 2020
No, you are not seeing things. Yes, you read that title correctly.
Believe it or not, there ARE some great things that have emerged from the year 2020. One of THE most trying years on record.
And we will get to these in a minute...
Yet, to be honest, calling it a ‘trying’ year is probably the Understatement Of The Year! Crazy, stressful, challenging, bizarre are a few other adjectives we have come up with.
And we’re pretty sure we’re not alone in assuming that the last nine months has touched – if not completely changed - everyone’s lives in some capacity. It has certainly gone down as one of the steeper rollercoaster years in modern history!
And look, there are plenty of articles out there talking about how intense 2020 has been. And we aren’t about to argue with that. At Long Story Short we, along with SO many businesses, were forced into a new ‘normal’ that went beyond any challenges we had come up against before.
Yet in true LSS style, we wanted to mix things up and talk about the positives, the silver linings, the glimmers of hope that have emerged from this bizarre year! And whilst we do not wish to dismiss or trivialise the difficult moments, we feel it is important to provide a balanced perspective. Don’t you agree? ;-)
Here we go...!
Here are Seven Great Things to come out of 2020
(To be honest, we came up with this list pretty quickly!)
Appreciating You!!!
This point absolutely HAS to go first... without you beautiful LSS supporters, we wouldn’t be where we are today! In the midst of the pandemic transforming many parts of our individual lives, what stood out even more was just how AMAZING you all are! And we aren’t only talking about ordering our labels and design services.. it’s your positive feedback, your patience, your enthusiasm for what YOU do and what WE do, that has given us the energy and impetus to keep going and remain optimistic!
Pursuing Your Own Thang!
How many of you started your own candle-making or skincare side hustle thanks to the lock down? Or maybe you gave up your 9-to-5 gig to pursue your dream of running your own business! Well, we say that there are QUITE a few of you who have taken this leap of faith! (And trust us - we KNOW. We’ve just had our biggest year yet!) It takes a lot of courage to start your own business. And so we say a big CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who took the plunge. Welcome to the small biz family!
Local Business Rocks!
Each and every one of you has more than likely supported a small or local business – whether that is us at LSS, your very own company or one belonging to a friend or network. More than ever there is big push for people to support their neighbourhood restaurants, markets, and other local trades. Understanding that there are individuals behind these companies, that know our names, care for our personal needs and actually having a face to the company goes a long way in these challenging times.
What’s more, local business is crucial for our economy. They bring growth and innovation to our communities and neighbourhood, not to mention employment opportunities!
Adapting to The New ‘Normal’
With basically the entire population living indoors for an extended period of time, the easiest – and in some cases only - way to get on with the day-to-day tasks was via the internet. Even though our business has always operated online, we had to make quite a few quick changes to our internal processes and structure to ensure we could continually deliver your design and print orders to the highest standard.
And you may have noticed, we boosted our social media activity! It’s super important that we kept you all informed of our changes, new offerings and any other business updates. What’s more, many of our customers boosted their own online presence through Instagram, Facebook and their websites. So we enhanced our social media offerings too! Which leads us to our next point..
Technology is a Saviour
Never has it been more apparent just how amazing the technological advancements have been! Thanks to FaceTime, Whatsapp and Zoom we've stayed connected to our loved ones, friends, colleagues and broader network. At Long Story Short, we have been overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback and attention given to our social media posts and stories. And we have loved giving you live updates on what’s happening our end – including printing your gorgeous labels!
Appreciating the Little Things
With many of us in lock-down for an inordinate amount of time (including members of our own Melbourne team!) it was easy to simply wallow in the blah, stressy moments. Instead, we focused on snapping ourselves out of it by counting our blessings. We have a roof over our head, a warm abode, people around us (either in the same house or at a distance) and a business and customers that we absolutely LOVE. Sure, things could be better. And it’s totally natural to want our usual luxuries back. Yet we still consider ourselves pretty darn lucky to be where we are.
Feeling Excited for the Future! (Omg TRAVEL!!!)
Can you remember what it’s like to walk down an airplane aisle?? Let’s visualise it! There’s nothing like being 'without' something for a while that makes you want it more. 2020 has highlighted to us how easily we took simpler freedoms for granted...there is something to be said for ‘absence making the heart grow fonder.’ Yet now, we can think about all those things that we missed in 2020 – family get togethers, parties, travel, cinema (ok, maybe NOT peak hour traffic!) and get truly excited!!
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it has helped us all to come together and support each other. Whilst the pandemic may have led to greater physical distances, it has certainly brought many of us closer in a personal and emotional level, and to appreciate the people that are there for us.
Now, we would LOVE to hear from you! Tell us, what positives has 2020 brought you?