This is an update on one of the “Heroes” that I interviewed in my book. After much consideration and a difficult year, Lynn, the salon owner has decided to hang it up and move to a different place.  She survived the shutdowns and forced slowdowns and her business was bouncing back. But the lack of responsible help and a huge increase in her rent caused her to reevaluate her business. She is moving to a different state and starting a different business. It seems she is still following the advice from Lessons from the Business Heroes of the Pandemic.

 Rule #1 – Always be looking for ways to reinvent yourself or your business. She saw that her current situation was possibly going to deteriorate due to lack of employees and rising rent, so she took the opportunity to move to a new place and try something new. Shortly after closing her salon, I heard that she already had great ideas and many options in her new hometown.

Rule #9 – Don’t just sit there, do something. When she got the notice about her rent she didn’t just sit there and accept her fate. She looked at all of her options and made a move. The unknown is always scary but facing rising costs and employee shortages can also be scary. She chose the path where she had the most control.

Rule #11 – Stay positive.  Faced with rising costs and a shortage of help it would be easy to just complain and ask for sympathy, but she decided to face these issues head on and make a change. When she announced on social media that she was closing her business and making this huge change in her life she did it in a very positive way. She didn’t throw the leasing company under the bus or make it sound like the business climate here was a problem. She just stated her current experience was not ideal and she needed to make a change. Then she proceeded to thank everyone that had been her customers and supported her in any way all of the years that she had her business. She even mentioned where her former assistant was working in case anyone wanted to follow her to her new company.

Even though the title of my book listed the “pandemic” the rules apply to any one ant any time. They are just good ideas to live by. The pandemic was the catalyst that caused me to write this book, but the lessons inside can be used to move you forward now or any other time. Good ideas and good lessons are timeless as is this book.