2020 will officially be a year that no one will ever forget. It will go down in the history books as the most unpredictable year ever! In this post i'm taking a few moments to reflect on the highlights of 2020, which, on reflection are more like lowlights that we survived. Yes good things can come out of any negative situation but i'd like to talk about some of the challenges we have had as a business and how we have faced them.
HIGHLIGHTS
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More cyclists meaning more customers for Goodordering
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Spending more time with my kids
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My cooking game is up, learnt to shuck oysters
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Reduced business overheads due to working at home
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Started learning Italian
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Started making and selling masks, keeping the cashflow going
- Created hand printed tote bags to thank the NHS for their slog during Covid
LOWLIGHTS
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Mental health takes a hit due to lockdown and Covid
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Kids at home, climbing the walls a bit
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Broadway market closes
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Warehouse staff contracts covid and are hit with temporary closure
Kids at home
This was at the best, shit, and at the worst, carnage. It was a lowest point of the year as it was so stressful and like groundhog day everyday for months. Don't get me wrong, i do love my kids, but everyday.... no!!!!
Selling masks
It seemed a bit wrong to jump on the band wagon of masks, but we were able to respond quickly and responsibly and our masks made from recycled materials in South London were a massive hit in June/july and helped us with our cashflow and also helped us to contribute to another business as well. Through selling masks I learnt more about logistics than I ever had because i was sending out a hundred masks a day for months. We also made good friends with our local post office.
Working smarter
Because the kids were home, my wife Mia, who took the brunt of the childcare on, and i had the kids at home all day, everyday. So my working day was suddenly reduced to approximately 3 hours from 9am-12pm each day. I learnt to work even more efficiently than i was doing before and also cut out lots of unnecessary distractions. Learning lessons quickly and moving on has definitely been a big feature of 2020. Here is a blog post detailing my biggest mistakes to date.
Retailers going bust
As we know Covid has hit hard any companies that were not operating in prime form. Companies like Topshop (and the rest of the Arcadia group) Debenhams and many others have gone bust. This also happened within the cycling industry with a few big chain stores like Cycle Surgery disappearing off the face of the earth. Those retails who have survived this retail slaughter are set for success due to their adaptability and resilience. This has affected us at Goodordering a bit as we were stocked in Cycle Surgery, but as one door closes another opens, and we have managed to collaborate and supply many amazing new retailers during 2020.
More cyclists
Covid definitely lead to more people taking up cycling which has been fantastic. Great for those people being able to keep fit and avoid public transport. Also great for the cycling industry and bike shops. And the big winner in the long run is the environment.
Staying home
Our homes have been the place we have spent the most time in during the last year, so it makes sense that they are more important than ever. From organising our shelves and putting up prints to ridding our lives of clutter, everyone's focus and potential source of comfort or misery is their home. Read our 10 tips for working from home.