The epidemic has impacted small enterprises negatively. A recent poll revealed that nearly two-thirds of companies have failed to surpass revenue levels achieved previously to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Some, on the other hand, absorbed the first shock, adapted to market conditions, and discovered fresh growth.
Hermes Ortiz, a business owner who specialized in signs and banners, embroidery, and engraving, shifted his focus to personalized face masks and multilingual signage for Hispanic clients, such as restaurants and transportation firms.
Ortiz says of his Brooklyn firm, “You’re searching for what the neighborhood needs at the moment.” “During the epidemic, the community needs facemasks and bilingual signage, so that is what I provide.”
Michael Goldberg, an associate professor at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, stated that the headwinds that followed the pandemic’s outbreak in 2020 – temporary shutdowns, pandemic protocols, sluggish supply chains, inflation, and a labor shortage – have roiled small businesses in the three years since.
“The suddenness of the epidemic posed several difficulties for small company owners and entrepreneurs,” stated Goldberg. The standard method of conducting business has vanished.
Many of small businesses were able to weather the epidemic thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program of the U.S. Small Business Administration. According to a poll conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade association for small enterprises, just 36% of small firms had returned to or above pre-pandemic sales levels as of January.
In reaction to the epidemic, business owners had to be resourceful, according to Goldberg. This may be a new product or service, or a more extensive and strategic use of technology and internet platforms. Every strategy was unique.
Ortiz and his wife Jeannette relocated their expanding firm, Ortiz Art Drafts Designs, from a Hispanic business incubator on Cleveland’s near West Side to a shop in suburban Brooklyn in early 2020.
The addition of a costly laser engraver increased their capacity to meet the promotional and marketing demands of the Spanish population in Cleveland. The Puerto Rican pair launched their embroidery services firm in 2016. When news of their exceptional work traveled throughout the Spanish community, sales increased.
As the epidemic struck in March 2020, shoppers stopped purchasing.
“I told my wife, ‘Oh my God, what is happening? What is the following step?'” Ortiz stated. “She suggested maybe we can use face masks. And we did just that, customizing the masks with the corporate logo or other information.”
They produced a maximum of several hundred every day. For over two years, this supplied essential money. In addition, restaurants began requesting window signs and floor decals in Spanish and English with business hours, directions for picking up food orders securely, and other pandemic-related information.
The pandemic-driven desire for additional truck deliveries prompted new, independent drivers to seek truck decals, a market niche that astonished them. Gradually, various types of Hispanic enterprises utilizing automobiles and trucks contacted Ortiz. If necessary, he would create the corporate logo, produce the vinyl decal, and put it on the car. In addition to business cards, embroidered shirts and uniforms, digitally printed items, and engraved mugs and plaques, Ortiz could accommodate the clients’ additional promotional demands.
Ortiz stated, “It’s natural and you’re simply responding to your client’s demands.”
His firm now employs three full-time workers and one part-time worker. Ortiz is also developing an architectural design firm using the drawing and design abilities he gained in Puerto Rico. He acknowledges that his desire is sometimes beyond what is feasible. His entrepreneurial ideas are recorded in a diary.
“My eyesight is insane,” remarked Ortiz. “I eagerly anticipate everything. Clients inform me that other men are pursuing what appears to be an excellent opportunity. And I am recording everything in my book.”
Last year, Ortiz participated in a company accelerator program conducted by JumpStart Inc., a venture development group located in Cleveland. Ortiz stated that it was especially useful for financial planning, business analysis, and marketing. He enjoys expanding his business skills and sharing it with others. He said that an increasing number of small company owners are phoning or seeking his counsel in the shop.
Recently, the company’s endurance was put to the test. In late January, a drunk motorist smashed through their storefront and destroyed a printer and other equipment. Ortiz stated that renovations and a grand reopening in the coming months should help his business recover from the loss of the storefront.