IL

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.

Guana Stamps, owner of Keep it Moving & Associates LLC in Chicago, Ill. opened her limousine service with the idea of offering a safe, reliable way of transportation for her clients. Keep it Moving is a pet friendly car service, which is an uncommon feature in the transportation business and sets her apart from the local competition. 

What comes after the pivot? Many small business owners who initially re-tooled their business to better suit the needs of consumers during the pandemic are starting to ask themselves this very question. Among them is Eric Cup who expertly adapted his business early on, but is now finding his pivot, while necessary, is not sustainable. 

From stay-at-home orders and being denied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to testing positive for COVID-19, the past few months have not been easy for Chicago business owner Kejuana Isom. 

Sherry Spellers combined her two passions to create a small business success story: a knack for repurposing old trinkets, with the desire to make women look and feel beautiful.

Her journey as a hairdresser was marked from an early age, when a traumatic incident caused Sherry to lose her hair. “I felt so ugly and ashamed. I knew in that moment that I wanted to help women feel good about themselves, and hair was a great way to do that,” says Sherry.

As a kid, Bobby Price never enjoyed his visits to his neighborhood barbershop, so it makes sense that it never occurred to him to open his own barbershop until much later in life. Even though Bobby has been cutting hair since he was 13, he didn’t become a full-time barber until he became a husband and a father.