The pandemic may have broken many things, but it did not break the resolve of our people. We have been blown away by the countless stories of small business owners, artists, creatives and folks in every profession. The resilience and the ability to pivot to survive has been beyond inspiring and below we’ve shared stories of how folks have adapted their business models and ways of operating.

Bianca Miller

COVID-19 has affected us all in many different ways. I must say that it impacted heavily on my small business along with many others. Because of this disease, it caused my business to decline in service and revenue, thus changing the business model. In order to keep the business afloat, I had to come up with a different solution to continue to move forward. Read more>>

Louize Fiore

I began Aequibelli Law & The Bellimori Foundation during COVID-19. I would attribute the success of both of my ventures to being able to identify the positives and negatives of starting a new venture during this time. When starting, it became crucial that I design a business plan for Aequibelli Law & The Bellimori Foundation with the full understanding that: Read more>>

Luis Toache

Prior to Covid, Our brand had been exploring the idea to expand our foot print and move to a larger location. We finally decided to move from a 650 sq. ft. store to a 1680 sq. ft. space and signed the lease in February 2020. We started remodeling the space in march 1st. 2020 not knowing the whole world would shut down a week after.  Read more>>

Heather Lyles

Covid drastically changed my business model as a roller skating instructor. With outdoor spaces providing the only safe place to skate the time, I had to pivot from teaching in enclosed skating rinks. I started holding lessons on basketball and tennis courts, and started teaching more trail skating lessons. I even started teaching quad skating in skate parks. Read more>>

Jessica Porta

In March 2020, I was leading an entrepreneurial community in downtown Raleigh, NC called Raleigh Founded. We offer shared workspace and resources to help startups scale and grow. Read more>>

Janette Miller

Brett and Janette Miller basically knew nothing about gourmet popcorn prior to starting this business. So, studying, researching, and building this business totally from scratch from the ground up was a rewarding challenge. They also started building the business during the first year of the pandemic, so this timing created its own inherent challenges as well with finances and staffing often being impacted by the ongoing pandemic. It was a huge undertaking, but it has been worth every bit of it. Read more>>

Gladys Ogunsegha

Embellish, being a ready to wear clothing line, had seen success with in-person events where people could touch and feel the pieces so they know the level of quality they are getting. The pandemic, however, created challenges. All in-person sales opportunities (which is a significant percentage of my revenue source) were cancelled. Read more>>