BPE Global Hot Topic – December 2020
Saying a Very Happy Goodbye to 2020
All of us at BPE Global are extremely grateful to be able to say that we are safe and healthy.
We had no idea what 2020 was going to look like when the global pandemic struck earlier this year. Our experience had been that some years are harder than others. In our lifetimes, we are handed individual challenges such as loss and illness. We are attuned to lending an extra hand when someone near to us is going through a bad year. Never in my life have so many people suffered so much loss on so many levels. This has been a year where the need to support others is constant and never-ending.
From a business perspective, the pandemic has presented itself as a problem to solve. Luckily, we have been working remotely since the business was founded in 2004. And the remote nature of our business has helped us avoid catching or spreading COVID. We were spared the very serious adjustment period that people experience when they transition to remote work. We did not have to set up our home offices and we did not have to go out and buy equipment. We are counting ourselves very lucky because we have managed to get to the end of this crazy year with a nominal number of pivots.
When the global pandemic hit, we at BPE Global were primed to do what we do best. Which is to support the people who need us. We found that some of our clients needed help understanding how to defer duty payments so they could divert those funds to keep their staff employed. We helped people import Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We helped people get their heads around the isolation of not being with your team every day. We helped clients avoid financial penalties when they were being investigated for having gaps in their compliance programs. And most importantly, we kept product moving throughout the global supply chain even when entire countries were locking down.
We can say that we have made it to the end of 2020 because of our amazing partners and customers. Our partners continued to refer customers to us that we would have never crossed paths with. Our involvement with many of these clients was a relatively straight-forward task on a long list of tasks required to obtain approval to receive foreign investment. Our biggest goal in those interactions was to quickly help our client check the box on the CIFIUS critical technologies question. Our not so subtle goal for all those clients was that they become a bit more aware of how important global trade compliance is to be a successful business. And we were honored when many of them come back and asked for help in hiring foreign persons, expanding development, and growing production when the funding dust settled.
A global pandemic is a daunting challenge for any business. We small businesses have limited resources and minimal redundancies. But we have succeeded thus far because of our remarkable customers. Our customers have faced serious trials this year including ensuring employee wellbeing, enduring supply chain disruptions, and dealing with facility closures to name just a few of the challenges. We have rejoiced when our clients came through the worst and returned to a new virtual normal. We have been thrilled to have them back in business to be working with them.
We know that people are “over” the challenges that the pandemic has handed them and that being on these endless lockdowns is a sacrifice for businesses and individuals alike. We want to say thank you for following the CDC’s recommendations and keeping yourselves, your coworkers, and your families safe. And we implore you to dig a bit deeper and keep up the hard work a little bit more. Now is the time to be even safer.
We must all recognize how hard this year has been on everyone. Our collective loss has been massive. In recognition of this loss, we all need to help each other even more. This year has been a huge warning letter, letting us know that we need to keep taking care of each other.
I am eternally grateful to our team at BPE Global. Our BPE Global team recognized the stresses that this year has put on our small business as well as our client’s businesses and they leaned in to help. They continue to lean in as this crisis continues and are showing no signs of letting up.
I have never been happier to say goodbye to a year. And I am equally happy to say that our small business is strong, and we will be here for our clients and our partners in the new year and many years to come.
Be safe and be well. I promise that 2021 is going to be a better year.
BPE Global is a global trade consulting and training firm. Beth Pride is the President of BPE Global. You can reach Beth by email at beth@bpeglobal.com or by phone at 1-415-845-8967.