Startup Nation

The dog days of August are upon us! This month we focus on entrepreneurship. What does it take to start a business? What does it take to sustain a business? We also focus on that old standby: Jobs. How well are we making a living? Dean Landsman’s featured article has three segments. In Who is Left Standing?, Dean Landsman probes the real fallout from the pandemic: Jobs kept, jobs lost and all the variants (no pun intended) in between. Speaking of variants, no one knows how long the pandemic will last and how many virus mutations will once again force a wide-scale shut down.

The work shift to digital is here to stay. How we work and the location where we work have irreversibly changed. There is no going back to where we were prior to 2020, but at least the libraries are open for business again. My monthly column, We Love Libraries, demonstrates the many ways that libraries are a gift to the business world. Thinking about starting a business? Then go to your local library. You will be amazed to see the trove of services offered to you, and for free.

Barbara Lloyd McMichael’s monthly column Building Back Better focuses on the U.S. Department of Transportation, but it’s really a tale of crumbling infrastructure. She tells her story through the lens of small business owner Logan Niles. Niles’s business, the Pot Pie Factory, has been enduring twin challenges. First the pandemic hit, then the potential collapse of the West Seattle Bridge forced her to take mind-numbingly long and circuitous routes through the city.  

In Dean Landsman’s segment, Essentially Yours, he shows us just how much our work world has changed. He expresses his appreciation of the essential workers who continue to hold the fabric of our society together. In Entrepreneurial Spirt and the Pandemic, Dean Landsman shares his experience with three small businesses in Manhattan who thrived throughout the pandemic. These entrepreneurs rose above the fray to give their customers excellent service. Their customers, in turn, gave them their loyalty and kept them in business. 

Telling stories about terrific people who are making a difference in the world should be the operative mission of all media. Instead, most media tell stories to drive cause célèbre just to make money. We pride ourselves in being different. We tell the stories that would not ordinarily be told by traditional media. We never forget the core mission of The Connector—telling stories about people who deserve recognition for who they are and what they do.  

 –Patricia Vaccarino