My business, Discovery Languages, is 3 today.

At DLL central we are celebrating today as the business is three years old. These big events are a good chance to step back and reflect on the past.

When I go to networking events and I explain that I started a business with a friend on April Fool’s Day 2020 it always gets a laugh. It’s mixed laugh-the absurdity of April Fool’s Day with the knowledge of what a year 2020 turned out to be. In some ways, it was a perfect time to start a language school, everyone was suddenly at home more and for some, it was a great opportunity to pick up that that language they had always wanted to learn. For us though, who had not intended on running an Internet language school and rather an in-person one, it was a steep learning curve. But somehow, despite the challenges of a global pandemic, homeschooling and working two other jobs, Discovery Languages celebrated its first birthday. And then a second. This year I looked at the Office of National Statistics about how many businesses survive to three years. From the most recent set of data it was 54%. The last year has brought its own set of challenges with the war in Ukraine effecting many countries economically via the energy crisis and rise in certain foodstuffs. Brexit continues to have a negative effect on many UK businesses, including mine, and the steep rise in mortgage rates from Liz Truss’s short tenure is also problematic.

Despite this, I look at each day in business as a success. I believe that Dundee and Tayside is better for having a language school in it. Allowing people to look outwards and learn about other languages and cultures perhaps more important than it has ever been. Helping them on their language journey is a privilege.