Zoom – opening up a whole new network

I had some cracking Zoom meetings over the past few weeks. I was invited to attend a Friends of Dorothy meeting by Craig Burton and their guest speaker was Miriam Margolyes. What a lovely woman she is. If you saw her on The Graham Norton Show recently you will appreciate how down to earth, honest and approachable she is. She is also very funny. She recalled her early years growing up as a ‘Jewish Lesbian’ (her description) her family and her relationship and when asked what advice she would give her teenage self she said ‘lose weight!’ She is someone with a social conscience and she’s not afraid to speak out for what she believes.

It was a great meeting and I certainly wouldn’t have been in her company before Zoom.

Another new network that has opened up is the Digital Hub. There are usually a couple of good speakers on relevant and interesting topics along with some thought-provoking break out groups including the future of homeworking and the office after lockdown. There was certainly a consensus here that many of us feel more productive working from home but we miss the social interaction. Most of us don’t feel the need to travel to the office 5 days a week and indeed this may no longer be possible in bigger businesses until social isolation ends – whenever that may be.

If you haven’t joined the group before and you’re operating in the digital sector, you should come along (shameless plug). I’ll be facilitating a break out-group. The next meeting is on 18th June at 5 pm until 6 pm.

On a similar vein, I attended the Leeds Retail Forum. Where attention turned to the future of independent businesses and their need to embrace online technology. ￡1 in every ￡3 is currently spent online so there has never been a more important time to get your retail business online. And what will the high street look like as lockdown lifts, particularly the City Centre?

If pubs and restaurants can’t open in the foreseeable future, the physical act of shopping changing through social distancing and many people considering the need to work from the office what will happen to our bustling city centre, and what’s more City Living?

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to joining ‘Future of the High Street’ where Jackie Mulligan from Shopappy is a speaker.

No doubt these debates will continue and it will be interesting to see what working and shopping environments look like at the end of this pandemic.

Cathy. Email: [email protected]. Mobile: 07940 461113.