I've been, by my own admission, hesitant to post. Not for lack of want but more out of a personal concern of me not knowing yet how to put the pieces of this whole thing together. The other IBC'ers have also done such a tremendous job of saying how I pretty much felt myself that I didn't want to re-hash it. I know I'm not, by any means, the only one that felt / feels that way.
I realized before the hurricane that it was time for me to reevaluate my business in light of the changing economy. Now after the hurricane, I have had to reevaluate if I can even stay on the island. Whole lot of reevaluating going on these days it seems true believers.
The question that keeps coming to the front of my concerns is if my business can withstand staying here on the island when so much isn't there to facilitate small business development and candidly, I still don't know if it can.
I had a conversation with a friend about this topic the other night and we both echoed the same concerns. Again, I know we weren't the only ones by any long shot but it is nice to talk to others who share in the same thoughts.
When I made the decision to move to Galveston a few years ago, I had no idea the amount of enjoyment I'd get out of this little place. I knew I liked it enough to move my business and myself from Amarillo and the past few years have shown me that like so many others, I have indeed grown attached to the uniqeness of the island and the friendships I've been fortunate to form here.
Post-Ike I've gotten so many calls and emails saying "Please move here." or "You can always stay here." (thanks mom and dad but I'm not sure either of us are ready for that one yet) or "Just come wait it out here and go back when it's ready."
All the offers are generous, honest, appreciated and in the end, ones that I've decided to take a pass on.
I've had a lot of fun here (yes, I know...sometimes too much fun) but at the end of the day I don't feel that it's right to leave when things get tough. It might be stubborness, but I wouldn't do that to a friend. I don't think I should do it where I've decided to live my life.
It's a challenge to stay here right now and I believe will be for quite some time, but I've also been looking for change and although it took a hurricane to create it (is that the equivalent of getting hit in the head with a hammer to realize something?) the opportunity is there to use this to all of our advantages and I'm more encouraged now than ever to make those changes for myself and my business and hopefully, for Galveston.
I am curious though. What reasons have you all decided to stay and if you do own a small business. What are you planning on doing to stay connected and use this event to grow from? I could use all the advice I can get.
