BUSINESS OWNERS PREPARE FOR A LOT OF “WHAT IFS,” BUT I THINK WE CAN safely say “what if there’s a global pandemic and nobody is allowed to leave their homes,” has never been one of them.
There is no precedent here. There are no best practices, and as of the time I’m writing this — mid-April — there is no solid end date in sight. And even when there is an end to the stay at home order, what will we be returning to? What will this new normal look like? Nobody knows, and nothing can be scarier than the unknown.
Just like every other business, in mid-March the team at Renaissance Publishing came together to ask ourselves, “Where do we go from here?” Those first two weeks of nonstop emails announcing closures and cancellations felt like the sky was falling. What do you write about when you don’t know what the world’s going to look like tomorrow, nevermind in six weeks when the next issue comes out?
I’m from the Mr. Rogers generation, and there’s a popular quote of his that I love where he talks about how when he was a kid and he would see scary things on the news, his mom would tell him to “look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” That’s what this issue is all about. We looked for the helpers, and fortunately, there are no shortage of them — in every industry.
As this is our annual women’s issue, you’ll read about just a few of the women in our community that are stepping up to this challenge in many creative ways. You’ll also find more contributed articles than we’ve ever published in one issue. Why? Because we’ve had an unprecedented number of local professionals reaching out in an effort to help others with whatever wisdom they may have.
There have been so many helpers in the nonprofit realm, in fact, that we’ve temporarily halted our monthly feature in favor of a weekly blog. I invite you to check it out every Thursday at BizNewOrleans.com. And, speaking of our website, I’m so proud to say that now, more than ever, it is THE source for everything related to business in Southeast Louisiana.
This is a time to rethink, renew and reimagine, and on our end so far that means reaching out to our readers in new ways — with fun contests (see page 56) and a new podcast to start.
Thank you so much for continuing to let us know how you’re doing and for reaching out to be a helper. It is a scary time, but if there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s the resilience of this community. We will get through this.
Stay Safe and Sane and Thank You For Reading,
Kimberley Singletary, Managing Editor
