Small Business Survival during the Pandemic
Wow, it’s been over a year since I’ve added anything to this site. Like most small business owners, my focus on my business had to take priority over just about everything else. Nothing could have prepared any of us for the COVID Pandemic. Not business school. Not years and years of business ownership. Not anything.
As I look back on the last year, the words that come to mind are pivot and adapt. And, we did that over and over again. I was naïve when the Shelter in Place order started. We were told it would be two weeks. Well, that two weeks morphed into months and months. While part of my business was considered essential, other parts were not. I had to reduce hours and lay people off. I’ll never forget the one-on-one conversations I had with my team members. I’ve never felt so helpless. It was absolutely horrible to have those hard conversations. My team members were amazing. I was the one tearing up with each conversation. They were all very understanding. Thankfully, a local bank assisted me quickly with the Payroll Protection Program process and I received funding quickly. (Thank you Redwood Capital Bank.) Even though our sales had reduced about 40% last April, I brought everyone back to normal staffing levels within a few weeks and we did what we had to do. We pivoted. We adapted.
Some of the things that helped my business survive included:
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WEBSITE:
About six months before the pandemic hit, we upgraded our Point of Sale system which included an integrated website. For the first time, our inventory was listed on our website. This made it easier for customers to discover our wide variety of offerings and complete purchases.
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DELIVERY METHODS:
While we’ve always shipped all over the United States, we now added Curbside Delivery to our offerings. The local Business Improvement District offered us safety cones so we could easily mark a spot in front of our building for this purpose. It has been fun to take purchases to customers’ cars. We even joked in our emails and social media posts that if people utilized curbside pickup, they may even see us do little happy dances. And, yes, I obliged on more than one occasion.
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EXPENSE ANALYSIS:
I examined each and every expense, determining if each thing was necessary. One thing we cut was an App we had. We had very few customers actually using it so I canceled it. Customers were very understanding.
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ACTIVITY KITS:
We created “Boredom Buster” cardmaking kits for those sheltered at home. These kits have been a huge hit for those of all ages and have been fun to promote on social media. This was a great way to utilize our time since we weren’t busy with walk-in customers and they continue to be a huge hit. Click here to check them out.
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SOCIAL MEDIA:
We adapted some of our social media content. For example, we added more tours of sections of the store. Many locals didn’t realize we even stocked teaching materials and kids’ craft supplies. These categories were obvious areas to promote as people were sheltering in place and adding distance learning for their children. Overall, we did more show and tell of our merchandise and service offerings.
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MERCHANDISE COST ANALYSIS:
We analyzed some of the merchandise we stocked to see if we could find lower-cost alternatives. In some cases, we started packaging items that we were already purchasing in bulk. For example, we purchase paper, cardstock, and envelopes in large quantities for printing purposes. Rather than buy already-packaged papers, cardstock, and envelopes from distributors to stock on the sales floor, we started packaging our own. This not only helped us reduce costs but increase margins.
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CLASS ALTERNATIVES:
Due to gathering restrictions, we were not able to offer in-person art and craft classes. We adapted by offering Zoom Classes and take-home Class Kits. Even as we’ve been able to host classes again, some people are more comfortable learning at home so we plan to continue to offer alternatives to in-person classes.
Looking back on 2020, I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish. Overall, our gross sales were only down 10%. We gained new customers, established better connections with our customers, and embraced our ability to pivot and adapt. Everything we experienced has built a stronger, more cohesive team and the community support has been amazing. I look forward to building on this sense of team and community as we move through this year.
Are you a small business owner? What things worked well for you in 2020? Please share in the comments below.
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Pivot and Adapt are very astute concepts. Our business was considered essential for passing along information, so we never closed and didn’t see any lay-offs. But, half the staff began working from home. With new technologies, we were able to achieve that. To this day we still have only essential employees coming into the building while about 1/4 of the staff still works out of their homes. It is amazing how you become a tighter family through it. We had two staff members contract the coronavirus due to contracting it via their home life. That spreads fear throughout a building… Read more »