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.

Stephen Payne

In the start of 2020 I was approached by some friends in the industry about joining forces and starting a new company together, and like with everyone COVID seemed to essentially shut down business overnight having clients cancel or reschedule for later hoping things would be better. We had a strong focus on working with musicians and when shut down these local musicians were hurting very bad. After talking, brainstorming, and looking at the future we got into the livestream game. Read more>>

Kiara Hicks

I feel like COVID has changed this world drastically when it comes to handling a business. When Covid began in the US, I also became a first time mom. Everyday had its challenges whether big or small, but I was able to sit and reevaluate my purpose of why I love to do photography. First, my focus was on anything and everything with taking photos of anything I see. After reevaluating on the business and personal side, I wanted to do something that would not only capture memories but empower others at the same time. I wanted to work with women and have them express that “I feel good about myself” feeling that is always hidden deep down inside themselves. Read more>>

Kalynn Evans

Covid changed our business model tremendously. Since 2017, we were an in-person, group fitness & athletic training facility in Houston, Texas serving current and former athletes in the Spring Branch / Memorial area. Since the shutdown in 2020, we took our services online. We started filming all of our programming and making it available through an on-demand library of classes (yaxonline.com) to our members and then anyone else who wanted to join in, from anywhere in the world. We had always had plans of taking our business online, but we were so busy in the day-to-day operations of running our studio, Read more>>

Darrell Nutt

I started seeing a lot of people working on their original music because of Covid. People found that they had extra time on their hands and worked on their original music. Many people reached out to me to record drum tracks or mix their songs. Anyone that was skeptical about remote recording has definitely changed their minds. They realize that you don’t have to be in the same room or the same state or the same country to have professional musicians work on their music. Read more>>

Yasmin Donkor

When the covid pandemic first occurred in the United States two years ago, I had just entered into my 5th year of being the CEO of Essence Of Vitality, which was originally founded by my father, Dr, Harry J. Quao Donkor in 1996. At the time, I did have some concerns on how the pandemic would impact our business, as most of our suppliers and distributors are small business establishments. Many similar to ours, are mom and pop shops that are owned by second generation family members. Read more>>

Buena Montero

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people travel, live, and do business. We have learned to be a lot more flexible and patient because the situation at home or the travel destination can rapidly change. However, the complexity, uncertainty, and ever-evolving restrictions made travel planning burdensome and joyless, and many travelers – even those accustomed to Online Travel Agencies – look to offload the planning to the professionals. Read more>>

Myles K. Wren

The pandemic has definitely effected how everyone does business. I truly wondered early on into lockdown what the world would look like in it’s recovery state and how we (collectively and individually) could move forward. It’s quite unfortunate that a lot of businesses (big and small) had to close their doors and end their dream and it’s quite inspiring how a lot of businesses (big and small) pivoted to be able to equip people with things they need and things that truly just made us happy during such a dark time. Read more>>

Delphyne Taylor

V & L Research and Consulting, Inc. is a full-service Marketing Research Company. We conduct both qualitative research (Focus Groups, In-Depth interviews, etc.) as well as quantitative research (telephone and on-line surveys). Although our business model has not changed, the way we conduct qualitative research has. Prior to COVID we held focus groups and individual interview discussions at a Research Facility with the two-way mirror. Moderator on one side of the glass and viewers/clients on the other. Read more>>