When Hurricane Sandy swept through the Rockaways in 2012, it didn’t just take half of my belongings—it uprooted my sense of home, security, and the life I and my family had painstakingly built.
The storm left a physical mess that could be cleaned, but the loss of a lifetime of memories—was something no insurance policy could replace.
34 years of memories from childhood, high school, college, even my adult life in Brooklyn and Hong Kong were gone.
We had no lights, heat and hot water for a little over a month and it was in the middle of cold NY winter.
As a small business owner, the impact was twofold – personal devastation and the immense challenge of trying to keep my business afloat amidst the chaos.
I was left wondering how I could rebuild not only my home, but also my business and my spirit.
I was a freelancer then and hadn’t officially started my business but I strongly thought about the importance of having a partner OR admin OR operations manager to be my right hand and help me “weather” storms like this.
I knew I wanted to have someone like that on my team, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (I.C.E).
Today, watching the news about the fires in Los Angeles, my heart aches for the small business owners and families facing their own version of this heartbreak.
I know the weight they carry: the sense of loss, the rush to do what’s necessary to survive, the need for some level of normalcy, and the sheer uncertainty of what comes next.
I wonder if survivors of the LA fires are experiencing a disparity in how the city responds to neighborhoods with mostly people of color as we did in the Rockaways.
But I also know this: small business owners are resilient!!!
We don’t just build businesses; we build dreams, communities, and futures.
And while the road to recovery may be long, it’s also paved with the support of those who’ve walked it before. To my fellow business owners in LA, know that you’re not alone.
Take it day by day and lean on friends and family who show up in all the many ways.
In hindsight, I wish I had a 2nd in command, a right hand, an IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (I.C.E) to keep the business going forward when I could not!
🚨 Who is the 2nd in command, right hand, or IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (I.C.E) in your business?
