In March of 2020 there was a moment of widespread panic – it wasn’t just about public health, it was also economic. Would our economy survive a prolonged pandemic? A few years in the answer is clear – it did survive and it was able to because of the spirit and the resolve of our people. Hard working mom and pops working overtime to implement new revenue streams for the businesses, artists and creators finding new ways to collaborate and share their art with their fans and folks from every neighborhood in the country finding ways to adapt and carry on. We wanted to honor those stories by creating a space to share those stories and you’ll find some of the below.

Maxime Ouimet

I spent over 11 years as a police officer before founding my first business, a salon specializing in hair and beauty, in 2016. However, it wasn’t until I discovered the avant-garde technique of Scalp Micropigmentation that I realized the immense potential of this field, which nobody was practicing in Quebec. In 2017, I founded Scalp Élite, and within two years, I was nominated as the best artist in North America and was recognized worldwide in my field, winning awards in England and Florida. Read more>>

Susie, Andy & Ziggy Szymczyk

Our company opened in August of 2019, about 8 months pre-pandemic. We set out to establish ourselves as a small Polish delicatessen with eat in dining. We scratch make all of our food using our family’s recipes passed down from generation to generation. Polish food in Austin is almost non-existent and we were excited to share our food and heritage with the community. We hired a staff of about 8 and got to work making kielbasa, pierogi, potato pancakes, pickles and more. Read more>>

Floreine Turlington

It’s common for businesses to have had to adapt to the changing customer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many customers have shifted towards online transactions, and businesses that were primarily brick-and-mortar had to quickly adapt their business model to meet this new demand. During the first quarter of the pandemic most businesses are at a loss on how to resume customer interactions. Especially with artisan products like mine who are dependent on bazaars and seasonal events where we can be vendors. Read more>>

Minoritea Report

The three of us, Kerel, Dawon, and Jerrell, live in three different locations. One would think doing a podcast that this would be difficult. However, as we gear up to celebrate our 4th Podcasting Anniversary, we have found that doing the show remotely has become part of the character of the show. Despite the difficulties of Covid, it aided our podcasting journey. Having a show each week allowed us to stay connected. Read more>>

Carmel Brown

Prior to the pandemic I completed 100% of my therapy sessions in the office. I’ve always occupied a building as I believed that was the best approach to providing mental health services. As a result of this perspective, I had never considered Telehealth or virtual therapy services. Currently everyone on my team works remotely.  Since changing to a remote company I’ve expanded my reach and now serving significantly more clients than in previous years. Read more>>