Let me be blunt. The economic impact of COVID-19 is sucking the life out of the Small Business community. For many, business has ground to a standstill, left to compare liquidity to fixed obligations and determine how much staying power they have. Some continue to peck away at new ideas to get their product to clients while maintaining all forms of precaution advanced by public health officials and governments. In the midst of this bleakness, I had the great fortune to be included in something extraordinary last Friday that I can only hope will be emulated in communities across our country.
Mt. Juliet, TN began March with a catastrophic hit from the F3 tornado rampage. Certain areas of the community are literally decimated. COVID-19 fears and precautions have swept in behind like a frigid blast on economic activity. Closures, curbside service, dwindling delivery options. Mt. Juliet Small Business owners are running every play they can to survive the storm.
Veering off from business into general philosophy, it strikes me that people throughout recorded time have pondered and debated the nature of suffering. I have no original thoughts to share on the subject, just a personal observation from my own life experience that every person’s suffering is real, acutely painful, and better not to be carried alone. One of the bloggers I regularly follow shared this quote today from Etty Hillesum, a young, Dutch Jewish woman who died in Auschwitz in 1943: “I am not alone in my tiredness or sickness or fears, but at one with millions of others from many centuries, and it is all part of life.” My interpretation: we are all connected by suffering and best to carry it together.
Banker Dennis Mitchell and insurance executive CJ Hutsenpiller decided the confluence of disasters in Mt. Juliet was too much for anyone to go alone. They convened a Zoom meeting of 30 business owners and community leaders including Mark Hinesley, President of the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce and James Maness, Vice-Mayor of the Mt. Juliet City Commission. Everyone shared their stories of how these two disasters had affected them. Depending on industry, some were affected by COVID-19 more than others. Despite the fear and concern, every person who spoke was working on productive ways to work through, and they were met by suggestions and generous offers from practitioners who could help them.
Mark Hinesley of The Chamber of Commerce offered insights to pronouncements from public officials on mandated changes to operations, as did James Maness, Vice-Mayor. Insurance agents described the current operating environment for agents suddenly doing business virtually and a little unprepared for it. An attorney provided legal perspective on debt restructure and negotiating with lenders and landlords. Marketing experts offered free text messaging services to stay close to clients, and free media strategy for tornado victims and greatly reduced prices for those impacted heavily by COVID-19. Financial people outlined relief lending programs from the SBA and local CDCs. Business owners rallied around each other with ways they could help, buying from each other by whatever means possible, and suggestions for tweaking or retooling delivery.
That’s a clean snapshot, but belies the outpouring of emotion that I witnessed during our time together. A few participants were emotional about their own situations, but what charged through the group most noticeably was compassion for each other, and deep loyalty and love for the community that they call home. To a person, the calling was to get through it together, which is how I think suffering is supposed to be handled, and it can be very difficult for Small Business owners to connect in this way.
We talk a lot about bonding at Bizzics, usually in the sense that we want businesses to grow in both client base and employee base so they get clout in the market. We want those bonds to be as strong as possible. I think most people get that, but the side benefit that is often overlooked is the energy that is created in the bonding process. It is pure science that when different types of matter bond into compounds, heat is created. Heat is energy. Energy makes it possible to move.
The leaders in Mt Juliet built bonds and energy to move toward recovery. This will be a tough set of circumstances to overcome. Energy must be high and bonds among like-minded people stronger than ever.
