A Look Back At 2020

VO: Get ready for your semi-regular dose of random ideas from the guys at codelation. We like to talk about big ideas companies that are winning, and those that aren't along with current events in our crazy world of software startups. So come along with Erick and Josh, who challenge you to think big, start small and turn your ideas into something on this episode of, from idea to done.

Josh: Hey everyone, I'm Josh

Erick: And I'm Erick. And this week's idea is moving forward. And so this is, this is the last episode of our season. This is the last episode of the wildly most dramatic year of my life. And so I'm really excited to be moving forward and more excited, you know, and my normal excited. Anyway. So Josh, as a business owner, like what, what is this year taught you?

Josh: Um, cashflow is king, um, you know, really having a diverse revenue stream and client base. So you don't get caught in a bad spot. Cause I mean, there's a lot of times that, um, you know, stuff's slowed down across the

Erick: Board or, you know, and it was just such a wavy wavy year and you hear all of these old business principles forever, like, oh, you know, cash flow and make sure to have a diversified portfolio. Like you hear all of that stuff. And it was, oh, that's a good idea. Financial advisor. And then, you know, spring happened and things kind of got pretty real, so it was tricky for a lot of businesses and I'm happy to be kind of getting through that. And so outside of, you know, the business world, what are some of the bigger lessons this year has taught you?

Josh: You know, I I've found that people either really do well in isolation or in your case, not at all. Well, in isolation and, um, you know, on a lighter note, I've officially learned that jeans are now considered dress pants in my house. So you want to get dressed up, get your jeans on.

Erick: We were shopping for Christmas presents for the team yesterday, and there was a lot more pajamas than I've ever seen at Target on a, you know, Wednesday afternoon,

Josh: I think you see that too, when you fly out of the Midwest and to like New York or Chicago, I can definitely tell you're back in the Midwest when the Vikings jackets and the jeans and the tennis shoes show back up again.

Erick: And yeah, you just kind of turn that up all the way. And yeah, I want to, I learned really quickly this spring that I'm in the, don't doing so well by myself, but I mean the flip side of that is it's made me just so much more thankful for everything this year. You know, just thankful to have the ability to breathe in my overall health and being around friends and family and my grandma, you know, even coworkers the first Monday in the middle of June, I remember it was our first day back as a team in the office. And that was one of the happiest days of all year for me just sitting in a room with Sumana and he was working on a completely different project, but just being in the same room as him and hearing him type just gave me just good energy. And I think that this year has been kind of a wake up call for a lot of people on how great our lives actually are. What are some of the things that you've learned to appreciate more this year dash,

Josh: You know, not to get sentimental, but I think just, you know, grateful to have a warm house on food on the table. Um, one thing I started to think about when they started to shut down schools locally is, you know, what about the students that need the school district for breakfast and lunch meals? You know, I was glad to see that they are able to keep those going and just, you know, overall appreciative that, you know, we're as fortunate and have the resources that we do

Erick: You know, I've never really wondered where or how I was going to get my next meal. And, you know, you kind of talk about when the schools closed down, that struggle was really unknown to me to this year. And so I'm just, I'm thankful for that, for everything that I really have. And I'm really, I'm ready to get back though. Like, I feel like this entire spring, my life metaphor for work and like even outside of work has been like, I'm kind of leaning off first ready to run. And then you're around someone who's been around COVID, dive back. Yup. You're going back to remote and like, or something happens and the numbers spike and you got to go back. And so I think as you know, technology evolves as vaccines start to happen, we're going to get the green light to run, like run, run again. And I'm so optimistic towards the future. What are you most excited for next year?

Josh: You know, I, I think for the time of year to where it's easy to look at the opportunity for January one to roll around, we have this magic reset and, you know, everything goes back to normal. We all know that isn't the case, but you know, honestly, I'm just looking forward to being able to comfortably go have a coffee or a beer with someone in person and not have to worry about it.

Erick: Yeah. And I mean this whole year, that's not just doom and gloom. I believe the profound poets that is the eighties hairband Cinderella saying, you don't know what you got till it's gone. And you know, my shining light of hope and excitement in all of this things aren't gone, they're paused a little bit, we're changed forever, but they're not gone. And so I have just such a different, a different perspective this year. You know, I believe we have an obligation and a need to come together as a world to make the future better. That is a very different thought than like I'm going to make 20, 20 my decade. And that was the attitude that I really had going into last year. It was so much more selfish and now I just have this whole new perspective on all right, we're coming together and we're going to do this. And so, you know, as we wrap up this season and this year to our podcasts, do you have any closing thoughts on 2020,

Josh: You know, looking back a year, it has been really weird that we were a year ago starting to hear about, you know, stuff coming down the pike and, you know, um, I just hope that everyone has a great holiday season has the chance to be surrounded by friends and family, you know, obviously in a safe, socially distant manner of course. Um, but you know, take this time to work on a personal relationship, uh, find a hobby or heck, you know, go start that business that you've always wanted to, if this year has taught us anything, jeans are now dress pants. So go start the thing you want to.

Erick: And I think that's a t-shirt right there. That is a, t-shirt the most secure we were really secure and there is no security in even the most secure things. So you should probably chase after what you're doing. And so I just wanted to take this time for me just to thank everyone for listening and, you know, thank everyone for being a part of our Codelation community. One of the bigger takeaways from this year is we just truly appreciate the people that are a part of our lives. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you everyone. Who's listening. And you know, as always, if you know a startup that could use our advice or in a thought, send them to codelation-bedrock.flywheelstaging.com to your next podcast,