One of the many things I have learned in the past few weeks is to never take something or someone for granted AND you have to be open or rather flexible to change. Because the one thing that is constant is change.
It seems strange to say but while I didn't predict the virus... I did foresee this current business model failing. The path we have been on for so many years has not been sustainable.
Think of how retail has changed in the past two decades. How many SUVs do Jeep, Lincoln, and Ford need in their repertoire? Why can't they just offer a small SUV and a large family SUV? Do we really need to own 50 pairs of Jimmy Choos or LV purses? Do we really need all the disposable crappy clothing we're purchasing from Amazon?
Are we simply filling ourselves up with possessions to replace what's lacking in our hearts and souls? Ironically, even the Lipstick Effect isn't holding true during the Time of Corona because we're all wearing masks. I hope we've finally hit rock bottom.
Retail hasn't been sustainable for years and it certainly hasn't been real. It's all become an advertising machine where bots follow us from the discussions in our homes to our phones and browsers with things we've mentioned mysteriously showing up in our feeds.
Our closets are filled up with disposable clothing and we have Amazon shipments arriving daily because we look forward to the little van and holding a cardboard box. I used to tease about living in a FedEx world and we were satisfied with the next day shipping... now it's an Amazon world where you can have same-day delivery. How often do you really need something the same day?
We're purchasing clothing that was produced quite often by employees living and working in horrific conditions in a foreign country. EVERY purchase we make from one of these companies is our way of condoning what they are doing.
We speak with our dollars these days much louder than we do our words. We have the ability to change the world... if we only changed ourselves. This is OUR chance to start over... a clean fresh start in just about every way possible. None of this has been working for us. What happened to quality over quantity?
Why is it that large corporations are filling our newsfeeds and commercial feeds with their do-good promises of how we're in this together? I don't have much patience or loyalty for businesses that operate like this. Why don't they have our backs all the time? I remember a conversation I had with customer service when I canceled Sirius radio several years ago. The representative told me I was such a good customer that they wanted to keep my business and offered me a 6-month subscription for 5.00 a month. I came back with... if I was SUCH a good customer why didn't you give me the 5.00 while I was still a subscriber. Now you've insulted me.
With my other business, Hippie Chick Design, my focus is on working with small business entrepreneurs who are seeking to create an online brand presence. I focus on helping them find their voice and from there defining their brand and ensuring that their online presence matches.
Many of my design clients are focused on sustainability, whether it's in fashion or design. I love them and what they stand for. Let's try to work with what we've got. More importantly, let's be happy with what we have. Stop looking outside of ourselves for things and people to make us happy. People and things don't make us happy, they ADD to our happiness. Happiness comes from within.
I don't know about you but I'm truly enjoying spending more time with family, looking up at blue skies, fewer cars on the freeway, and seeing more families go for walks with their dogs. Do we really need all these large office buildings... let's go back to a simpler life. We don't need to over complicate things. That being said I do miss walking at the beach.
