I put up flyers on Main Street when no one was out shopping.
I put my business cards at restaurant cash registers when most people were ordering in.
I’m expected people to pay for an unessential service when so many had just lost their jobs.
I started my business during the pandemic.
What seemed like a simple and profitable solution to newfound free time during COVID lockdown, turned out to be one of the biggest challenges I and other entrepreneurs faced – and overcame. Some startups like mine were able to adapt quickly, others are just now getting their footing and some were forced to put their plans on the back burner. We all learned a lesson in patience and perseverance.
Home after UNC shut down and moved classes online, I spent my days in my childhood bedroom that looks more like a boutique than a comfortable place to sleep. Clothing racks line the four walls and headless mannequins my family gifted me sit in corners or hang from doors.
My only escape was the overcrowded room where I resumed my favorite high school hobby – playing with my clothes.
Sitting in my bed every day and staring at the color-coded sea of garments, I was struck with a business idea. I will be a personal stylist.
‘I can help people organize their closets and play with other people’s clothes and shop with other people’s money. It will be fabulous,’ I thought.
In my excessive spare time, I designed a logo, business cards, flyers, social media branding, price sheets, contracts, client packets and anything else you may imagine I would need.
With a firm plan and materials in hand, I told my mother about my brilliant idea.
It was obvious by the tone of her voice that she had her doubts about my chosen time to start a business, a time when her own business, a music venue and bar, was ordered to close. But her initial support let me get my business on its feet.
My mother let me organize her closet and play with her wardrobe. The woman that had never post a selfie online, posed with big smiles for before and after pictures that she helped promote to her Facebook friends.
The social media pages went live and I waited for the appointments to start rolling in, but they didn’t. Then it hit me.
‘What am I thinking? Who would want to let a stranger in their closet when people aren’t letting their own families in their home?’
I was reassured by the fact that I wasn’t the only person starting a business in the most uncertain of times.
Shortly after moving to Raleigh, N.C., Sammy Jo Hinnant launched her art business, Florellie, in October of 2020.
Her boyfriend turned a space in his home into her new studio. Her parents and friends sent her art supplies. Her new and native communities supported her as well.
“There are people that relate and want to buy from local artists because they understand how hard the pandemic hit them,” Hinnant said.
Specializing in painting curvy female figures, Hinnant found the pandemic to be a great time to share her work.
“I started the company to give myself a little something extra to do but also to help promote body positivity and girl power and confidence with who you are and where you are to help other people get through the pandemic,” Hinnant said.
The artist’s primary concern in working through the pandemic was not being able to do shows and get her message to customers face-to-face. After over a year since opening, in November of 2021, in-person shows resumed and she made her expected revenue for three months in just one day at a show.
But not every business that opened during the pandemic is still thriving today.
Kennedy Waycaster launched an online western and boho fashion boutique – Lovely & Rooted – in March 2021 and made the hard decision to close the shop that October.
Waycaster’s love for fashion and the fashion community combined with a desire to make the clothes she loves more affordable, inspired her to take the leap of faith in the midst of the pandemic.
Her family was confident in her abilities but warned her to be cautious moving forward.
Concerned about her own health and that of her customers, she was nervous about the local deliveries she was doing and limited her product models to only her sister.
Despite challenges, she found benefits in starting when she did. She had more leeway in shipping and delivery times from understanding customers.
“If it wouldn’t have been the pandemic, I don’t think there would have been as much leniency,” Waycaster said.
Waycaster set a goal to make at least one sale a day. She exceeded that with three to five daily sales for the first month and a half. She also set a goal to make at least $1,000 that first month and quickly reached $3,000.
Pandemic-related obstacles caught up to Waycaster. Standing at the post office doors with hands full of packages, she found they closed early due to staffing shortages. Trying to find the supplies she needed from bigger brands, she couldn’t get the products due to supply chain issues.
The final blow to Lovely & Rooted happened when Waycaster invested in clothing for upcoming seasons. She budgeted expecting to be charged months later, but when the wholesaler got her order in, they charged her right then.
She canceled the orders she had left and announced a closing sale on her Instagram.
“I put my dream on pause,” Waycaster said.
I’m fortunate to have built and maintained a cliental. I adapted to virtual styling techniques and am now welcome into people’s closets with my new favorite fashion accessory – a mask.
Have I made much money from my personal styling gig? No, not at all. But I’m having a blast, meeting new people and slowly building my reputation.
Eventually, shoppers returned to Main Street, diners returned to restaurants, and people regained some financial stability. My flyers, business cards and services are still hanging around.