2020 was one crazy year to say the least. I'm sure we can all agree on that one...
Our world is changing faster than ever before, but these days we are reminded that it's the small things that really matter the most; Health, Family, Friends, Flowers, swimming in a cold body of crystal clear water and a perfectly ripe avocado to name a few.
Today, it isn't surprising at all to see people wearing a mask walking down the street or in photos or social media posts - it's the new norm. New Zealand has closed its borders to overseas visitors and is even putting limits on it's re-entry into the country for NZ citizens. No-one is flying ANYWHERE...we are living in a very different world post-Covid 2020.
I don't know about you but I often find myself reading articles that pre-date Covid (like when I was lighting the fire with Mountain Scene last winter) and thinking "If somebody had told us back then what 2020 had in store for us, I would never have believed them!"
But New Zealand is an oasis NOW more than ever before, and as the rest of the world struggles to find its feet in this new world I am reminded of this fact.
A lot of people aren't bothering with scanning the Covid trackers any more, most businesses are operating again, Kiwis are traveling and domestic tourism has never been more needed and more appreciated in Queenstown and other tourist meccas.
On the surface, life in NZ has returned to normal.
But, for the team here at The Outpost, life in the era of Covid-19 is very far from normal. Like many other businesses, it is "adapt or die" time for The Outpost and all of our suppliers.
When Covid 19 first happened and we went into lock-down, my son Sage and I sat down and talked about what to do. I was leaning towards calling it a day, closing the shop and packing everything into a whole lot of cardboard boxes, it was the easier option. But Sage pointed out the responsibility we had to our community - to our suppliers and staff members who all rely on us to survive and support their families, to the local Queenstown and Dunedin communities and yes, to you, our loyal and amazing customers.
And so after many cups of tea and tears we decided that, rather than surrender, we were going with 100% commitment - commitment to our community and to continuing the Outpost's mission.
Easier said than done...
We need to not just survive but flourish in this radically changed landscape.
To meet our challenges head on and see them not as threats, but opportunities. Evolution, Curiosity, Creativity, and a Good Attitude are the keys to how we will achieve this. (Call us naive optimists if you like!).
So, we have been making the most of this opportunity to figure out how we can make 2021 better for our community. and have come up with some great ideas we think are worthy of getting behind.
And the key word we keep coming back to is "community". As both individuals and businesses we have become way too transactional in our relationships. The way we communicate and build relationships with people is essentially broken and we need to take a giant step backwards to move forward.
So, a big focus for us here at The Outpost is on engaging with and listening to our community and finding ways we can enrich the lives of the people we care about.
And if you're reading this email, you are a part of this community and we would love to hear from you. So go ahead, reply to this email, pop into the shop to say hi to the team, or get all high tech and DM us on FB or Insta (that's me trying to sound like I know what I'm doing with social media...did it work?). Because we don't want to talk AT you, we want to chat WITH you.
On that note, we have just kick-started the Outpost Korero series , a monthly-ish email with all the latest news from The Outpost family as we strive to tackle our goals head on. If you want to get an email in your inbox that might actually make you smile (or possibly chuckle) and brighten your day, this is the email for you. You can sign up below if you want to check it out. (We hate spam as much as you do. We will make sure the "Unsubscribe" button in all of our emails is the size of a small pacific island, if you don't dig what we're putting out just Unsubscribe the hell out of us).
Last but not least...
The global Covid-19 Pandemic has meant that many people have lost their lives, their health, their financial security or even somebody close to them. 2020 has been a year of suffering for many. Let's make 2021 a kinder, better year for all of us. One small gesture of kindness from one person is all it takes to start positive change.
Kaari and The Outpost Team