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“Bad seasons will never last forever, and as for the pain, hardship and loss as a result of this pandemic, I take comfort in knowing that this too shall pass.”

Like so many of us, Tamara initially thought the pandemic would pass quickly, but unfortunately, she remained on leave as the coronavirus caused the entire country to remain at a standstill for the majority of the year.

With her bills mounting and no end to the pandemic in sight, she got the ball rolling on launching her own business venture.

“I applied for a business licence, I contracted someone to build me a professional website, constructed social media pages, went ahead to receive the necessary approvals from my job to start a business while on furlough, and the rest, as they say, is history,” she said.

“On February 15, 2021, I officially launched Power of the Pen Public Relations, Writing and Editing Services.”

While starting a business is a challenging undertaking in the best of times, doing so during a global pandemic is especially difficult.

“There is a cost for everything, and I was counting my pennies because here it was, I wanted to start a business with no income coming in to do certain things. I really needed to prioritise what was important and how I could get a business up and running with as little overhead expense as possible,” she said.

“My main challenge was getting my website up and running as this sells the business and this is where all of my bookings are done. I paid a company to construct my initial site and I wasn’t pleased with it at all. That was a total loss as I had to pay another company to revamp the site and make it better, which led me to incur additional costs.

“Also, having started a business during a pandemic, I had to analyse my price points as many persons were unemployed and they were looking for a discount. For example, many persons looking for jobs were interested in our cover letter and resume writing services, but they were looking for an affordable package because they were unemployed, so I had to tweak my price point in this regard.”

Tamara said she has learned patience since starting her company.

“I’ve realised how important social media and content creation is when it comes to this type of business, staying on top of current trends in public relations, as well as constantly highlighting how our services would be beneficial to businesses and businesspersons. I’m also aware that it takes time for a business to grow, so while putting in the necessary work I remain patient.”

The pandemic, she said, has also reinforced how important it is to be able to generate additional income for yourself.

“I believe that every woman has a skill, talent or purpose that she may not be using or developing to the best of her ability. When our backs are against the wall, so to speak, as women, we will find various ways to make ends meet. I would advise women who are still facing unemployment as a result of this pandemic to just take a leap of faith and do something that they enjoy to make money. Whether that enjoyment comes from cooking, baking, sewing, whatever it is, just do it while continuously thinking of various ways to generate an income.

“Don’t allow fear or negative thoughts of failure to discourage you. Maybe you feel as if not enough planning and preparation was done so you delay, but the longer you delay, the longer you will take to get started. Know that everything will never be perfect when starting a business, so we must just go out on a limb, trust God to direct our path and go from there. Once the business is up and running, you can work constantly on improving it over time.”

Research is also essential, she added.

“Examine the pros and cons of getting into business. Write out your long- and short-term goals for the business. Ensure that you have a professional business plan drawn up. Most importantly, ensure that the business that you are getting into is something that you are passionate about, something you want to invest your time, money and energy into. I’d say that if you can find a business partner or someone who may be willing to sponsor you financially to get started, someone who is genuinely willing to help, then by all means accept the partnership and the offer,” she said.

The pandemic, Tamara said, has taught her a lot about herself and life in general.

“I’ve learned that I’m a resilient woman who can roll with the punches as they are thrown at me. Lord knows, I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs in life, but it’s always important to get back up, even if you get back up slowly. This pandemic was an eye-opener for me and many women who may not have been managing our finances properly or saving for a rainy day. I’ve learned that while it’s good to plan for the future, we still have no idea what the future holds or what setbacks we may experience in life or on our jobs. The key is to never give up despite how bleak things may seem. Bad seasons will never last forever, and as for the pain, hardship and loss as a result of this pandemic, I take comfort in knowing that this too shall pass.”