Stories Of Business Resilience During COVID-19 Pandemic

Photo Credit: Google

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions across various business sectors. Sadly, this has resulted in large scale layoffs around the world. Companies, both great and small, have been afflicted by the pandemic in some way or form. And to remain resilient in the face of great adversity, many have been forced to shift their focus in order to survive.

According to Google, 70% of small businesses say that digital tools have been useful to them during the COVID-19 crisis. And through quick and decisive strategies, these business have been able to temper the storm, and come out on the other end relatively unscathed. Said businesses include Celsious, Progetto Quid and BoxFit.

Corinna and Theresa Williams are sisters who created an interesting laundromat called Celsious in Brooklyn, New York. It’s a light-filled place with soaring ceilings, eco-firendly machines and a barista-attended coffee bar. It also has a place where customers can relax while they wait for their clothes to be done.

But, once the pandemic hit, the business suffered as well due in part to the stay at home order. The sisters resorted to switching to a drop-off only business model. In addition to this, they made good use of their business profile on Google to help customers book appointments. This also included providing priority schedules to essential workers.

Progetto Quid, a fashion brand was also impacted by the pandemic. They were in the business of recovering high-quality textiles from larger clothing and textile/fabric manufactures and turning them into beautiful collections. Their workforce, which consisted of mostly women with troubled pasts, would been left vulnerable during a downturn.

That’s why Anna Fiscale, the company’s founder and president, decided to switch to producing reusable face masks that oucld be sold online. This decision kept the company operational and helped preserve the jobs of her employees.

Photo Credit: Google

It’s a similar story for a company from New Delhi India, called BoxFit. It’s a boxing and kickboxing-based fitness club with 20 employees. The lockdowns drove everyone indoors and away from public places. But, to ensure its instructors could keep their jobs, the founder Rahul Kaul, started streaming live interactive workouts on YouTube.

This allowed the company to provide its services to its existing customers online, while winning over new ones in the process. COVID-19 has changed the business landscape. For better or worse, most companies will have to shift to an online business model to weather the storm.