Blogs

Keeping kids engaged, curious and confident throughout virtual learning and lockdowns is a task many parents and schools have struggled with over the past 10 months. Fortunately, Virginia small business owner Ellen Victoria Luckey is well equipped to help her community tackle the issue. 

When Dr. Shelley Cooper launched her telehealth consulting business Diversity Telehealth LLC in Kansas City, Mo. in 2015, she knew she’d face an uphill battle due to the nature of her work. “‘What is telehealth, and how does it work?’—Those are the questions I get all the time,” says Dr. Cooper. “But I’m here to tell you about the lifesaving benefits it can provide, and why you should care about it.”

Ten years ago, Sway Soturi woke up to find that her face had swollen “to the size of a watermelon.” After speaking with doctors and friends, she decided to cut out inflammatory ingredients like gluten and dairy from her diet. 

After 15 years working in the restaurant industry and battling an eating disorder, Sway had to re-define nutrition and her relationship with food. Over the next few years, she shifted to a wellness mindset becoming a personal trainer and cooking with more natural and local ingredients. 

After working for several companies in the public and private sector, David Mercer Louie realized that he would always have little to no control over his own paycheck. “Even if I gave over 100% of my time and effort to these companies, I’d never earn as much as I could if I worked for myself,” says David. In his case, the alternative was more than obvious: Join the family business at the Harry Louie Laundry and Dry Cleaners in Dover, Del.

The gut reaction to quickly pivot their business was a survival method that saved many small business owners from closing their doors this year. Now, nine months after initial stay at home orders were set in place in response to the spread of COVID-19, many entrepreneurs across the country are looking for their second pivot of the year in order to survive.

Veteran entrepreneur Roxanne Huggins has owned the Comstock Premier Lodge in Sargent, Nebraska since 2009. Working with her husband Mitch and one other employee, they have managed to expand their business from a large farm to a year-round bed & breakfast hunting lodge and ranch. 

Over the summer, as small business owners began to share how they were pivoting their businesses to meet the needs of their communities and stay open during the pandemic, we were inspired to launch our Stories of Resiliency campaign on Instagram. 

Over the past six months, we have shared dozens of stories from small business owners in our network who have expertly adapted their businesses and overcome massive unexpected setbacks. Here are some of their stories.

In the nine months following the initial coronavirus outbreak, small business owners across the United States continue to struggle to keep up with the changing demands of the global health crisis. From adapting business plans to launching new business ideas, entrepreneurs have been forced to be quick on their feet—or perish.

As the owner of a catering company, Nicole Jordan has seen an extreme decline in contracts and income since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately for this Illinois-based small business owner, as a former banker she is well connected to the financial resources in her community.