People who can pivot will stay employed during coronavirus pandemic, says economist

Sarah Goodman recently graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with her sights set on a business marketing job. But while on the hunt for a full-time career she was working at two restaurants and running a home baking business.

Then COVID-19 put an end to all of those sources of income.

On the side, she had done some babysitting to earn extra money but now she’s turned that into a full-time job. She’s working as a nanny for two families who have lost their conventional childcare options.

“It’s definitely a weird time. But I think we have a lot of advantages now that we don’t have when we went through a recession in 2008,” said Goodman.

She’s been thinking of looking to her other skills and entrepreneurial spirit to figure out other ways to pay the bills. As a former dance instructor, she’s toying with the idea of hosting online dance classes to keep kids who are home occupied.

“There are a lot of things I can do,” she said.

Shelton Weeks, the Chair for the Department of Economics & Finance at FGCU’s Lutgert College of Business said people have to be willing to adapt if they find themselves out of work.

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“Those folks who have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and maybe do a different type of job and add value somewhere else, they will still have opportunities to earn a living,” said Weeks.

Goodman said she’s using this as an opportunity for self-reflection.

“If you are in a situation where you hate waking up and going to work every day, now is the time to figure out what your interests are and what you want to do. You could build a business from your living room if you needed to,” she said.

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