Right now, what seems the biggest issue for us @Jim Bygland147, is the uncertainty that COVID presents for 2021. In typical years we'd look at the previous year's results, do some calculations, and make predictions for the coming year that felt safely within a reasonable 'cone of uncertainty'. This year, however, we're paying more attention to the last 6 months of 2020 than the first 6 months because it's hard to see how early 2020 business results are relevant right now... it seems a lifetime ago! And as we get closer to a widely available vaccine and things begin to open back up in our communities, we expect business results to shift again. It's impossible to know when that will happen so it feels difficult to plan for staffing needs and expected seasonality of demand, etc. This year our 'cone of uncertainty' doesn't feel nearly as "reasonable"!
Rebecca McComas
Retired small business owner
