LOCKDOWN GEMS: HOW COVID-19 HAS UNINTENTIONALLY AIDED THE START-UP OF SMALL BUSINESSES

Many small businesses have been helped out by online and social media sale booms throughout lockdown. Olivia Frost speaks to three small business owners about how they have navigated through Covid-19, despite the setbacks.

Although it may seem that this year has been full of doom and gloom for everyone, many people have used their free time wisely to start-up something new. With a massive 95,000 new businesses established between July and September alone, there has never been a more popular time to start. For some, the idea came as a glimmer of hope in a dark time, both emotionally and financially. For others, it was more the case of adapting their current business to fit the “new normal” way of living with restrictions.

The boredom of lockdown sparked fresh new business ideas in many entrepreneurs. This was the case for Holly Cleave, founder of Cocobelle London. When Holly was furloughed from her job in Public Relations in April, she needed to think of something to keep her entertained. A lightbulb moment sparked an idea to turn Holly’s love for headbands into something more than just a collection. Holly believes that the development of Cocobelle was surprisingly helped by the Covid-19 restrictions, as she started-up online, whilst all other high-street stores were closed. This led to an increased global online traffic, which meant that her store received a steady flow of sales especially from Instagram.

“The power of Instagram is quite amazing,” says Holly, who was stunned at the sudden flurry of sales she received after a well-known influencer featured her brand on her story. The influence of social media is something that many small businesses rely on for promoting their products. With an increased number of people stuck at home, the numbers of online and social media sales have soared. More and more small businesses are turning to social media platforms such as Instagram to promote their products. From the start of lockdown back in March, Instagram alone saw a 64% increase in users using the platform to find shopping inspiration. These figures have remained high throughout the year, even with the re-opening of high street stores again back in June.

Anna Llewellyn-Jones is very aware of the influence that Instagram can have on business and marketing. “I’ve always been arty, it just seemed natural for me to set up an artistic business… I set up Radish and Pear to sell homemade face coverings, whilst on furlough from my job at my local café,” she says. Having previous experience on social media as a fitness blogger played to Anna’s advantage, as she was able to use her account effectively, to promote and take orders via Direct Message. Anna expanded her business and started to sell bespoke earrings, after the support she had received since starting up. The support, whether that be a simple follow or a sale, that Radish and Pear has gotten from the start has helped Anna to build her business further. She was worried at first that no-one would buy her earrings during lockdown, as they didn’t have anywhere to go. Fortunately, this was not the case, as she says: “I’ve had customers messaging me saying, ‘I’m gonna go out to Tesco just to wear my new earrings,’” which boosted her confidence in her brand majorly.

Not everyone has been so lucky with their business during lockdown, however. The wedding industry has been struck hard this year, especially small, independent wedding businesses. With the rules around weddings and events constantly changing, the events industry is extremely vulnerable right now. Karis Rushton runs The Kent Wedding Company, a Kent and South East London based company, specialising in weddings and events. Karis explains that she has had over 20 cancellations throughout this year, which has had an enormous impact on her business. “It’s heart-breaking and stressful. We’re not clear why we are one of the only industries that aren’t allowed to continue doing our job,” Karis says, as she expresses her upset and confusion of the unclear guidelines. Despite this, Karis was luckily able to set up a sister business, The Kent Grazing Company, which came about after a bride and groom requested a grazing table at their wedding. The demand for Karis’ grazing tables grew rapidly, until eventually “it spread like wildfire”. This second business soon became a great investment for Karis, as she started creating lockdown grazing boxes, which could be delivered straight to your front door.

Although you may not think it, a single sale can make a huge impact on a small business owners’ life. “I saw this quote somewhere, but it is so true, ‘when someone places an order with a small business, an actual person does a dance,’” Holly says, highlighting the joy of every single order a small business owner receives. Small business owners can all agree that shopping small is vital for the survival of small stores, which sell bespoke, unique products that cannot be found elsewhere. Although this year has been far from easy for anyone, small businesses owners such as Holly, Anna and Karis, have fortunately been able to find little slithers of light in the darkness. They have all been able to find ways to survive the pandemic, whether that be starting a new business from scratch, or adapting an already established business to be able to keep an income coming in during the lockdowns.

Instead of ticking off your Christmas list in the high street this year, consider shopping small and support local businesses instead, because a simple shift from shopping with a retail chain to an independent business whilst easy to do, can make the world of difference to someone’s livelihood and well-being.