Lockdown has taught me the importance of using my skills to help others succeed

Simply reaching out to those in your community might seem small, but it could make the world of difference to someone, writes Stephanie Conway

Helping people set up new businesses from home has been very rewarding (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The coronavirus crisis and Black Lives Matter movement have show that we all have to be in this together. If we want to beat systematic racism, an economic downturn, and a global health crisis, we all have to do our part.

Now more than ever, we need to build a sense of community, and lift each other up so that no one gets left behind. But you don’t have to be rich or noteworthy to give back. Everyone has the ability to take advantage of our own strengths and share them with others.

Helping not only benefits the receiver, but research has proven that it’s also good for our own mental and physical health. Take the 2008 financial crisis as an example. One year after thousands of people had lost their homes and jobs, researcher Stephen Post and his colleagues at Stony Brook University surveyed 4,500 people on their volunteering habits and mental health. They found that 89 per cent of people felt happier overall after helping others, and 78 per cent said that helping others helped them deal with disappointment and loss.

Acknowledging the ways in which we might be part of the problem is a good start so that we can make necessary changes to become part of the solution. The irony is not lost on me that I spent a decade helping corporate brands get richer. Working at agency-level on marketing and PR campaigns for global brands meant that I handled big-budget projects with high-profile clients. But no matter how great it looked on the outside, I still had a burning desire to find more meaning in my life.

After some introspection, I went freelance to start Symphony VA, and use my marketing skillset to help small businesses succeed. I made a promise to myself that moving forward, I would make a conscious effort to be part of the solution. I would use my creativity to help mum-and-dad-owned businesses succeed.

But as a global pandemic forced us all into lockdown, everything changed. Many were affected economically, in particular women and those under 25. More than a million people applied for Universal Credit, job opportunities plummeted, and I realised that former colleagues, friends, and relatives were out of work.

Many people who had faith that committing themselves to a full-time career and regular income as a safe life choice, had found themselves without work in a global pandemic. The stock-market also took a nose-dive, shrinking many people’s lifetime savings. In less than a week, my mum lost tens of thousands of pounds in retirement savings that she had saved working for the NHS.

A family friend had been working full-time as a tour guide. She was furloughed in lockdown and was worried that Universal Credit wouldn’t be enough to cover living expenses for herself and her 14-year-old daughter. After mentioning that she had taught languages previously, I realised that I could use my skill set to help her create an online business to replace her lost income.

Another friend runs an events company, whose schedule was abruptly cancelled for 2020 thanks to Covid-19. I helped him pivot his business to provide coronavirus-compliant drive-in events. This revived his business by allowing his company to work around new government regulations.

Knowing that I can genuinely help someone create or develop their business means far more to me than any of my previous work. When you help individual entrepreneurs and business owners, your success helps families stay afloat and keeps someone’s dream alive.

Often we tend to think that we’re not in a position to help others. But simply reaching out to those in your community might seem small, but it could make the world of difference to someone.