2020 - A Year in Review
Here we are, at the end of an unforgettable year. Some may consider it the worst year of their lives, some may consider it the best, and some may view it as a year of contradictions. However you view it, 2020 will certainly be a memorable year.
Upon reflection, this certainly has been a monumental year for AK Lean. January started with a slower, steady pace of work, with just me [Megan], as a sole proprietorship. I was taking my time mapping out what I thought the year might look like. February followed much of the same page.
Then there was March.
March brought a crazy chaotic mess to Anchorage. Schools shut down, businesses were suddenly forced to be working from home, and somehow the world started hoarding toilet paper (still not sure on that connection…). AK Lean was suddenly drowning in work, trying to help local businesses quickly adapt to being virtual. This meant HOURS of creating fillable PDF forms, building automation and workflows for now remote staff, and AK Lean branching into providing technology training. As a business, AK Lean was booming.
As a business owner, I was drowning.
I had suddenly become a home-schooling mom, a teacher to many who needed to learn how to use computers quickly, a house-referee with both my kids AND my husband working from home, and a zombie from the long hours needed to even remotely stay on top of the work now coming at me.
All of this commotion caused major growth in AK Lean. The growth I didn’t predict would happen for years. The growth I will forever be grateful for.
From all the chaos, AK Lean became an LLC and expanded. We started the year with just one person and we’re finishing the year with three. COVID-19 was a blessing that brought Lorelei and MIsti onto the AK Lean team.
The AK Lean team has experienced so much this year. As one team member put it, it has been a year of contrast for us.
We have lost beloved pets and gained new furry family members
We have had to forgo family holiday traditions and, for the first time, create family traditions of our own
We have gone from unemployment or working alone to being part of the AK Lean team
We’ve lost friendships, gained new ones, and reconnected with old ones
We’ve started new adventures, like schooling, and ended previous adventures, like living in other states
What 2020 Taught Us
The AK Lean team has learned many lessons this year, but the resounding one is this: no matter the struggles, things will always be right so long as our lives are grounded in music, words, friendship, the passion to succeed at that which we endeavor, and love. All else could go wrong, but we can carry on and smile because of the constants.
After a unique and unforgettable year, the team at AK Lean wants to take a moment to thank everyone for this year. Without our clients, AK Lean wouldn’t have been able to ride the financial waves of COVID. Without the community, AK Lean wouldn’t have been able to grow. Without our families, AK Lean wouldn’t have been able to find happiness in a stressful year. Without our team, AK Lean wouldn’t have been able to support the community as it has supported us.
2020, you’ve been a crazy son-of-a-gun year but thank you - we needed you.
Sincerely,
The AK Lean Team
