A Fork in the Road... Hurricane Helene Making Us Question Our Life's Trajectory
I was talking to a local friend recently who casually said, “We might have to move” (not the first person I have heard utter this phrase since Helene hit 9 weeks ago). Her husband had been fired unexpectedly from a brewery, one of the larger ones that you might think would be “fine” after a natural disaster, because "they’re big enough.” Yet, all of us in the business community here know that there’s no such thing as big enough when it comes to everything changing in our worlds overnight.
This friend has been raising money since day one and has done a lot of good for the community already, just like so many other business owners in my orbit. It has been mindblowing to see restaurants serve free food, practically every business turning into a supply hub for a few weeks, and entrepreneur leaders in Asheville and beyond start nonprofits and funds and initiatives left and right.
But many of us have a creeping thought in the back of our head…
“Am I Going To Have To Move?”
There are many factors that go into answering this question. We’ll start with the obvious one, money.
Many folks would simply be better off financially if they picked up and moved their business to another city.
The lifetime earnings of their business would likely be higher in a place where the economy has not come to a halt like it has in Asheville and most of Western North Carolina.
Home value: Will the value of homes not damaged by Hurricane Helene be higher and make selling an obvious answer to these financial hardships? Or will all the home values go down and I need to sell now? Even if I list my house, are there any people trying to move here right now?
Some of the ways my business used to earn money have evaporated (events, tourism, venue rentals, less spending on products/entertainment, etc.).
What’s going to happen to with the American and global economy overall?
It goes without saying that those of us struggling with these questions are some of the luckiest ones, who have a roof over their head and the means to consider starting over in a new place. Many folks who’s entire lives washed away may not be able to just pick up and move. For starters, they don’t have a home to consider selling, and from what I have heard from a few folks whose homes washed away, the insurance and FEMA money doesn’t begin to cover true rebuild costs. So do you take that money and start over somewhere else?
Another friend in the beer industry posted that he had applied to every brewery within 40 miles. So even though you would think with upwards of 60% of the service industry workers already moved away, there would be hours for the ones who want to stay. Not so, since customer volume is way down, tourism has basically evaporated, and so many businesses haven’t and won’t reopen.
If you’re pondering this question, let’s talk. Whether you’re comfortable sharing your story with the world on a podcast episode or if you want to talk it through in private, I am here to listen, learn, commiserate, and brainstorm if that’s what you need.
For me, I am committed to staying here through February 2025 when we have our first annual Women Entrepreneurs & Leaders Week February 10-14. This includes the exclusive Asheville screening of Show Her The Money on February 13. But beyond that, I can’t really say for sure. There are so many factors at play, and I’ll be learning more about the state of our local economy at AVL Meetup tonight (Tuesday, December 3 5:30-7:30).