Over this past year, during the COVID crisis, many bank lobbies have been shuttered, making neighborhood banking seem like a thing of the past. But for small business owners, this crisis has brought home just how important it can be to have a strong partnership with a local bank.

It’s likely that the sale of your business will be the most important financial event of your life.

I still believe it to be relatively impolite to discuss the 2020 election in mixed company, so I won’t. But didn’t I just already mention…? I won’t.

As if you don’t have enough to think about while trying to lead your business to success, or today perhaps even survival, now you have a new area of concern. Should your business weigh in on controversial political issues? How do you respond to pressure from employees, customers, or activists? If you are going to weigh in, how should you choose to use your influence?

On March 9th, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule clarifying that the prohibition against sex discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act means that lenders cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The past year has led to more changes than anyone could have anticipated. While the banking industry had already been making moves toward technological innovation, the pandemic significantly sped up that trend.

While many industries have suffered under the pandemic, the demand to develop warehouses and distribution centers has skyrocketed. The global supply chain has changed dramatically to accommodate shifts in consumer behavior.

Certain COVID impacts, such as wearing masks, keeping a six-foot physical distance from others and remote learning, may be with us a while longer but on a temporary basis. However, the impact of COVID on warehousing and distribution is going to have long and lasting effects throughout the world.