Crushed by COVID

NLS Family,

We hope you have all been well and are staying safe during these trying times we're living through. As you can imagine, small businesses like ourselves have been truly affected by the global pandemic. The past few months have not only tested our patience, but our resilience and even dedication to No Lost Sole.

Just like everyone else, 2020 was supposed to be OUR year. This was the year business would skyrocket and we would inevitably climb to that next level we've been grinding towards for so long. And you know what? Earlier this year it felt like we were actually on our way. After all, when you're working within the realms of BET how could we not feel like we "made it". After that experience in January we were LIT! We were hungry. 2020 HAD to be our year.

I'm sure you can image where this story is headed. No matter how great you are rolling with punches, nothing can really prepare you for a global pandemic. Even we as young entrepreneurs are used to highs and lows, but this low has been different. Since we're being honest here, things have been on the decline since February. We could go on and on about cancelled events, manufacturing delays, low sales (like low low), or even the simple struggle of not being able to go out in public to shoot content. The struggle has been real family! By the way, we know we aren't the only ones that are facing hardship. We've seen plenty of other businesses out there that are getting destroyed right now and may never recover. It's a blessing that NLS has and continues to weather the storm up until this point.

You could be wondering why we're even sharing this information with you. WHat'S tHE pOinT oF tHiS bLOg? The answer is transparency. There's a good chance you've had to go through some type of struggle yourself and we wanted to let you know you're not alone. Maybe you had to adjust to working from home and being inside all day. Maybe your job has been overly stressful, or on the other end of the spectrum your place of employment has been closed and you are out of work. Whatever the case, we wanted you to know you aren't alone.

Despite what people and social media are saying, 2020 isn't cancelled. Please don't let the opinions of others dictate how you navigate the rest of this year. Use this time to work on yourself. Revisit the goals you planned to tackle this year and get back to that state of mind you had when creating them. You can either let this situation defeat you or you can choose to come out stronger on the other side. We’re going with the second option and hoping you do the same!