‘It’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible.’
     – Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon on home working.

We will soon see a full return to normal, and business should prepare as such now. Most of us avoided the inane press conferences last year as much for our sanity as for our need to get on with running our businesses regardless. However, there was an exciting slip of honesty from an open, ungeared comment by Boris Johnson this week. Asked if he thought city centres needed adaption for a new normal of people working from home, the PM said he thought people are keen to get back to seeing people under normal circumstances.

I, for one, think it’s more profound than that. The adage ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ will be evident.
Business, Commerce, Entertainment, Haulage, Demand, we need to now prepare for what I predict will be an unprecedented demand. Rather than adaption, I believe an insatiable appetite for catching up will be the natural response.

I believe there is evidence for this and one that SME business needs to take advantage of. The UK economy has not been in recession; it has been placed in an artificial state of suspension. With the announcement of dates of lifting, dates that I believe will be exceeded by events, we will see a decade or so of exuberance, spend and frivolity.

If you in hospitality, get your ducks in a row but prepare for the inevitable need for security. If you are in fashion, get ready for a new exuberance, and if you are in commerce, prepare to expand and prosper.