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.

Teri Vroma

In 2019 I had just started getting into photography full time. I ended 2019 on a high with so many hopes for 2020 to be an amazing year. Then in the March of 2020 I knew my photography business was going to take a major hit. Between the social distancing, masks and the lockdown around Nashville, I wasn’t allowed to do what I loved, which is capturing family memories. I attempted to do the front porch sessions and that was a major bust. I thought I was done, before I could even get started. Read more>>

Brooke Beise

COVID is the precise reason this this business model exists. There has ALWAYS been a desire and a gap for micro weddings / that happy medium for those who want more than a courthouse wedding but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars. The restrictions on weddings and events allowed that space to dream up such a concept and put it into fruition. It is not going anywhere either, there is definitely a need a way to have an intimate wedding with all of the essentials. Read more>>

Jennifer Redente

Initially, I met with customers face to face. I loved this because I was able to get to know the couple (or bride with parent or friend) over a cup of coffee or meal, but when COVID hit, that became an issue, so now, I do most of the work over the phone. Sometime, couples request a video teleconference (i.e, FaceTime, Zoom, etc.), which I am happy to do, but this helps both parties. Read more>>

Melanie Brumsted

Covid has changed everything as a whole I feel. I think a lot of people do not even realize how much these past two and a half years have affected us all. I opened my salon in January of 2020 and during that time the beauty business was booming. Everyone went to work in person, had lunches with co workers, events with friends, parties with family etc. Read more>>

Debbie Flood

The music industry has seen dramatic changes due to covid. For over a year there were no live shows resulting in most musicians to rely on the government funding or get another source of income during that difficult time. I ended up working in IT so I was lucky to have that skill set . Many of my friends were finding new and creative ways to make money with online paid shows, online meet and greets, etc Since covid getting back to playing live has been amazing but with inflation the cost of touring has also been inflated making the profit margin difficult. Read more>>

Michelle Allegrezza

Prior to Covid we were all flying by the seat of our pants. Our payroll bounced on Black Friday 2019 so my employees didn’t get paid, I was putting fires out every day, I felt like I was being held hostage in all areas of my life when all I was trying to do was make everyone happy. I couldn’t sleep at night and consistently felt like I was either having panic attacks or a heart attack. Read more>>

Wynette Simmons

COVID has definitely changed my business model as I deal in selling raw human hair extensions directly from human donors. In 2019 when the pandemic started, there was no inventory available due to people not donating hair. I had to close my brick-and-mortar location and shift to online sales only. I was able to re-open my store 1/22 however 90% of customers purchase online. So, the business model is focused on online growth and the purchase online and pick-up & in-store model. This model has allowed me to reach new customers outside my local area and international. Read more>>

Ne’Yanna Williamson

Covid 19 changed the way we all do business in the beauty industry. Being faced with uncertainty as well as being deemed non essential amongst the working class all played parts in how we changed our business model Being a services based business for starters we changed the flow of our schedule only allowing ourself to book at 50% as well as staggering the times stylists were allowed to work to cut down on traffic in the salon. Read more>>