We are now firmly out of the Christmas and New Year period, which means we are now firmly into 2021. 2020 has been, popularly, named “the worst year ever”, “the crisis year” and other such sensational names. All over the world, people have been expressing their relief that it’s over.
A year is just a year. 2020 ending has not magically brought an end to coronavirus, nor has it stopped the far-right from attacking the White House. To believe that the new year alone will fix the world is to believe a fallacy.
We, as individuals, are not passive onlookers to disasters, but rather active agents with the power to make things happen. People are responsible for the problems of the last year, not the year itself. This is no time to despair or to celebrate, but instead to recalibrate. What exactly happened? How can we do better?
With polarisation and ongoing restrictions, one thing to come out of it has been a sense of caution when it comes to believing the media.
Believing wholeheartedly that it is safe to go to restaurants, and it is safe to send children to school, in the face of rising infection rates, because the papers said so is becoming more and more unlikely for many people. Many have developed a more questioning approach to what they are told.
Then there is the rise in entrepreneurship. Millions of people were made unemployed by the virus, with furlough and uncertainty surrounding whether pubs and shops would survive, there has been a dramatic shift towards self-employment, small businesses and community assistance.
There have been growing movements online to shop local, rather than rely on giants like Amazon. The free time given by the shift in working patterns has allowed many people to focus more on their skills and hobbies, with needlework, baking, painting, skating and music production booming, all despite the floundering economy.
Now may seem like a crazy time to start a business: We wouldn’t blame you for being scared – but actually, it is as good a time as any. We are living in a time, sure of uncertainty, but also of great creativity; mass introspection and change.
So, don’t be a passive onlooker: Take charge of your future.
We are here to help new small businesses with setting up, as well as providing advice on all tax queries.