How are you doing, Sally Ocaña? (Co-founder of International Creative Women)

What impact did corona have on your work at International Creative Women?

We used to do several activities: markets, meetings, workshops, so COVID had a great impact on us. All our activities stopped at a certain point. At the same time, new problems appeared: loneliness, anxiety, economic struggles, etc. 

We had to come up with ideas to keep women active, engaged, and positive, that's why we created a program called well-being weeks: 8 weeks of online classes, webinars, and activities organized by the women in our community for people around the world

After this, we focused on helping women to face their struggles as entrepreneurs. We organized a series of webinars with top experts in marketing, sales, branding, SEO, etc.  All for free. We readapt our activities, we did our meetings, markets, and workshops online.  Since COVID we have been very busy and our community grew a lot.

Which changes due to Corona have you experienced as positive?

The digital transformation!!  We helped women to have a presence online, so they can sell their products and services online. We organized different workshops to encourage them to be online in an effective way. And we also made that step, we opened our online store. People can now buy online products created by many local entrepreneurs. 

When the Creative Town Store finally opened again, what was the first thing you did?

When we opened again the first thing we did was canceling our Zoom subscription ha-ha, grab a can of paint to renew the furniture as a sign of a new beginning.

Little by little, we have restarted our activities. We have made some changes at Creative Town, outside and inside to fulfill the corona protocol.  We also created new activities such as crafting Tuesdays and info Fridays.

What is your best personal memory of 2020?

2020 for many of us was a  very difficult year, several of us lost family and friends, and we live with the impotence of not being able to travel to our countries to help or comfort our loved ones. This was a year that filled us with fear and uncertainty. But it was also a year that showed us where friends are, that brought us closer together as a community. 

The best memory we had was the connection and support we were able to offer at the beginning of 2020. People from different continents waited for that hour of daily online connection. We received very touching thank you emails and calls. This motivated us to keep working hard for the community.

Finally: What message do you want to give personally?

In times of fear, you can fight or flight.  We have chosen to fight.  We decided to go ahead and support each other.  So, don't be afraid to ask for help, we can fight together.  That's the power of a community.