Jane, 44, founder of La Cuisine Paris
1. How do you make a living?
The business I founded is in the tourism sector in Paris, France. We are a cooking school (lacuisineparis.com) that provides French cooking classes in English to visitors.
2. Has your career been impacted by Covid-19 and if so, how?
Certainly has. The tourism sector has been significantly impacted, so at the moment my physical business is closed.
Having said that, we continue, as we always have with community building (rather than selling).
Community building has always been an important part of our brand, so we continue on with this emphasis - something that I feel people need now more than ever.
3. How has that impact made you feel?
Exhausted, yet resilient.
As a business leader, when you have very little answers to the questions your team asks, this can feel very destabilising.
Accepting and allowing vulnerability during this time is an important part of self preservation.
Realising that no needs you to have all the answers, they need to know that you are committed to stewarding through this uncertain time and coming out of the other end.
4. How are you safeguarding your career during this time?
Learning and connecting. Trying to look at the brighter side (which one must always search for) during this forced pause; what we each try to do with it is what counts.
Coaching other small businesses has been a source of reward, enlightenment and fuel - when you teach, you learn twice.
Feeling purposeful in advancing or supporting others is a great elixir.
5. Will you change anything about your way of living when things go back to normal? If yes, how?
I would like to say yes (and hope my memory will be very long for what this has taught us).
Taking things, people or circumstances for granted is not an option going forward. I will also be able to calibrate my own interests and dreams as well as that of my business. Being a business owner there is the constant challenge of working in your business versus on your business, and I hope to have a better balance of that when life goes back to what ever 'normal' we will have.
6. How are you maintaining your wellbeing during this time?
Meditating. Meditating. Meditating. Trying to calm my mind and focus rather than succumbing to the need to 'keep myself busy'.
Connecting with others who have a shared experience is also very important - being a business owner with brick & mortar and staff possess a number of challenges during this period, so being able to connect and share with others who understand is very important.
I also remain active with groups that continue to enrich and support me such as my Mastermind group.
7. If you were to recommend one thing to do in lockdown - what would it be & why?
DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read).
Pick up a book (non-fiction or fiction), something that will take you elsewhere, and perhaps along the way you will learn something new about yourself.
8. If a helping hand could be given to you now, what would it look like?
The helping hand will give me the strength to get my current business through this period, as well as give me insight to see where I may want to go/develop next.
9. If you were to spend lockdown with a famous person, who would it be and why?
Yikes! That is the toughest question yet! I'll have Brene Brown with me - and if I can squeeze in one more person, Malcolm Gladwell.
10. What excites you most about post-lockdown life?
What excites me most is that in a way, I really feel that this will be a rebirth of some sort. We will have lived through a time like non other - I'd like to think we are all in that same transition period where pure carbon is pressurised in to something beautiful - a diamond.
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