Two years and counting…
So here it is almost 2 years after it all started. Many business are recovering and/or reopening. People are returning to “in person” work. Many businesses are having difficulty finding workers. We are dealing with a new virus variant. The government is “printing money” to keep the economy going. It’s somewhat controlled chaos. The next few years will be interesting for Small Business.
In February 2021 CBS News reported…
“Three out of every 10 small businesses in the U.S. say they likely won’t survive 2021 without additional government assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank shows. Considering there are roughly 30 million small businesses in the U.S., that means 9 million small firms are at risk of closing for good this year.”
As an update a June 2021 Fact Check report quoted a Harvard University-based project called The Economic Tracker. The online platform provides data about real-time economic trends and uses financial transaction activity to suggest whether a business has closed.
As of the week of June 8 2021, the Tracker showed there were 37.5% fewer small businesses open nationwide compared with January 2020, two months before the pandemic hit the United States.
As a small business we are proud and grateful that we have survived and, in some ways thrived during this crisis. The downturn gave us a chance to re-group. First, we upgraded technology and equipment to keep up with added demand in our Prepress Services (Packaging) area. Second, we entered new markets to help with the crisis(PPE). Third, we are reviewing goals in our Contract Machining area to accommodate new markets. Finally we increased our E-Commerce presence. All this was to keep current with the new normal.
To us the most important part of this was our people Keeping them healthy and employed. These people are like family; their families are like family… I also know that without these people, we can’t serve our customers. Consequently, our customers can’t serve their customers… and it goes on. (The simple definition of Supply Chain). With the help of Federal PPP, State and County Grants, and a lot of “thinking outside the box” we have continued to grow. Although Covid is still with us, I’m optimistic that we have learned how to navigate the health crisis. I believe and understand that it’s not going to be a straight line out of this. There will continue to be ups and downs, opens and closes, speed ups and slow downs – you get the idea. To us, that’s what you get when you go into business.
You may be asking “how did you do this”. Reflecting back, it’s a blur and a Team effort. At times we would look around at my coworkers and think “why do you do this?” One word comes to mind CULTURE. Excelsior Marking stays together because we have built a culture of respect, empathy, and perspective for each other, and our Customers. These are a few guideposts I maintain to get through.
One last thing, if you’re one of our loyal Customers or Vendors, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOYALTY”! To all others be well!