Could 2020 actually have been a good year for entrepreneurs?

Was 2020 a good year?

Could it be? Is it possible? Are we even allowed to say it out loud? Could 2020 have been a good thing when it comes to your business, your personal brand and accomplishing your dreams?

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

It was a nice day out, or at least that was my impression staring out the window. I had been in quarantine for the past 10 days or so, not leaving my apartment. I was just back from a short trip to Berlin — how I love Berlin. Every year I try and spend a few days there to rest, write and think about my next steps in business and life. It’s been a habit I think since 2015. Little did I know this trip would be the last for at least a year or so.

Coming back to Tel-Aviv from Berlin, my travel buddy and I were asked to go into quarantine. Everything else was still normal here, except I was running the business from home, practically alone. It was lonely, and strange, being about a 5-minute drive from my office but not even being allowed to go downstairs to throw out the garbage or get a cup of coffee.

Things really started to go south a few days into my quarantine. The situation in Israel escalated quickly. Everyone was suddenly talking about a full lockdown, clients making plans to leave or cut down their retainers and staff asking what might happen to them. These were sleepless nights for me. Could this mean my company might close? Would I lose my money and go bankrupt? Uncertainty dominated every single hour I was stuck there, alone, making decisions in what felt more and more like a computer game. I knew that each decision could cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, and it was scary.

You see, I didn’t experience the crisis in 2008 or the dot com bubble — I was too young. And I’m a solopreneur, so I make my bed and eat my porridge… or whatever you wanna call it. The point is t I do things all alone.

I steadily paced around my apartment with my phone in one hand, coffee in the other, talking to as many people as possible, trying to get a grasp of things. I decided that me, and my business, were going to get through it, no matter what. But my team and I would have to stick to the plan.