Why I started a business in the middle of a pandemic

To say 2020 has been a year of change is, quite obviously, an understatement. It was a year measured less in weeks and months than in waves of hope and fear. Like many others, I rode those waves and found myself somewhere new: as the owner of my own consulting firm.

In August, I was offered an incredible opportunity to work with a great client on a major digital transformation project. This client understood and embraced the magnitude of change that the world was undergoing, in part because of COVID-19, and recognized the importance of content and technology working hand in hand to reshape the customer and employee experience as we move toward a new normal. For me, it was a chance to extend my practices of Agile change management and user-centered design while continuing to flex my marketing communications muscles. It was also an opportunity to build a business around something that I truly believe in: the idea that content can and should produce specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely results.

Having choices during this tumultuous time was a luxury, but it didn’t make my decision any easier. Saying yes meant taking a step away from what was familiar and comfortable. It meant saying goodbye to the marketing communications team and program I had built from the ground up. But it also meant choosing hope over fear, and believing that by using the tools and experience I had gained, I could create some really sweet lemonade from this year's bitter harvest.

As I look back on this crazy year that was, I know my choice was the right one. I am proud to be among the 2020 class of first-time business owners. I believe that with every challenge comes opportunity, and 2021 is bound to bring loads of the latter. I’m excited to continue building my brand, and helping my clients extend theirs. Here’s to bright things on the horizon!

Jennifer Roth is a senior marketing communications professional with extensive experience developing innovative strategies for informing, guiding, and motivating people through digital content. Her unique blend of creativity and analytics has created value for a wide variety of organizations, from mid-sized local businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. In 2020, she founded Content x Design LLC, a firm whose name reflects her analytical, data-based approach to creative work.