Life on the Edge: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Survival during COVID-19

Life on the Edge is my story about surviving COVID-19 as an entrepreneur and small business owner outside of Philadelphia. I started documenting the happenings of each day about two weeks into lock down so that when I look back on this time I will be able to remember it for exactly what it is. 

My goal with Life on the Edge is to provide an inside look into the struggles that face small businesses during a global disaster. I hope that by sharing my experience I might help other entrepreneurs and business owners during this time. 

In Episode 18, I describe the goals that we have set for the company this quarter. Once we identified the top things we need to focus on for the quarter, we defined goals for each priority, with the target date set to coincide with the end of the quarter. Once the company goals were established, we could then work backwards to create goals for each individual that line up and support the company's goals.

This process of creating goals for the company and then each teammate ensures that we are collectively rowing in the same direction, keeping everyone on the team aligned with the company and each other. It also gives each of us something to think about other than the barrage of negative news surrounding COVID-19. I find that if I can keep my team's focus, I can effectively steer the ship in the direction we need to go; it's when we lose focus that we start to veer off course. So, in the midst of the chaos, setting goals and working towards them keeps us focused and helps us maintain a positive mindset.