By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
It’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to temporarily and, in some cases, permanently close their doors. With lockdowns and social distancing protocols sweeping across the nation the week of March 11, 2020, entrepreneurs had to adapt or risk losing their livelihoods.
In some cases, the push to pivot enabled business owners to expand their operations. In others, sales took a hit. As the fifth anniversary of the start of the pandemic arrived, the AFRO spoke with business owners who are currently working with E3 Business Group or have done so in the past. E3 Business Group is a division of Eagle Soaring Management Corps, and serves as a support organization for aspiring entrepreneurs.
As a professional in cleaning services, Antanius Fields said he was alert to the pandemic early on. The virus first began to spread overseas in late 2019, but began to ravage the American population–and economy– in March 2020.
“I was very familiar with the coronavirus, but I knew my clients were not,” said Fields. “I was very concerned that they would take the approach of cutting back on services instead of attacking the issue by continuing services that would ensure their environment was safe and healthy.”
Fields’ Jacksonville, Fla.-based business, Next Level Cleaning, was created in 2009. The enterprise serves both residential and commercial clients, ensuring their spaces stay clean and well-maintained.
When shutdowns started, he had a mix of emotions.
“I was nervous initially for some of my smaller clients because I knew their foot traffic would be down considerably, which, in turn, would shrink budgets. Traditionally, the first areas to be cut are the cleaning staff,” said Fields. “With larger clients being more involved in the overall landscape of their environment, it made it a little easier to continue service with the added level of urgency to keep those who had to work outside of their homes healthy in the workplace.”
He explained that social distancing guidelines did not really affect his operations. Cleaning crews typically work overnight or very early in the morning when most people are still at home. He added that this enabled essential employees to step into a clean environment each day.
Though the commercial aspect of his business remained stable, residential services suffered.
“From the residential side of services that we offer, we took about a 50 percent loss at minimum,” said Fields. “People just could not afford to continue with services at that time. It made it very difficult to sustain that side of the business during that period.”
As a result of this, Fields stayed focused on his work with commercial clients. He said it paid off.
“We had an extremely low percentage of clients missing work due to Covid,” said Fields. “This allowed for those clients to not decrease the frequency of services, which was a fear because it was happening in so many service-based industries.”
His commercial operations returned to normal in the middle of 2021, but residential services continue to be a challenge.
“The biggest lesson I learned is that staying focused on what you can control is extremely important to sustain you in tough times and being proactive in diversifying the niches of your business can be the best way to be sustainable in lean times,” said Fields.
For functional medicine practitioner Sequoyah Lindsey-Taylor, the pandemic presented an opportunity to scale her business, ASE Wellness. The alternative and holistic health organization, based in Florida, helps families determine the root causes of their children’s ailments and illnesses, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.
“It ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were doing a lot of business that was local and attempting to reach clients outside of our local area,” said Lindsey-Taylor. “With Covid, we had to pivot to online health care.”
Before the public health crisis, Lindsey-Taylor’s practice was forward-facing. The transition to telehealth and other virtual services meant she could reach more clients. But, she also had to find a platform that was compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
“Once we did that, we were able to serve clients not only locally but it allowed us to be able to expand nationally and, now, internationally,” said Lindsey-Taylor. “Now, we’re able to see our clients from anywhere.”
Being in the health and wellness space, she said the business also benefitted from the uncertainty people were facing during the pandemic. She could suggest vitamins and other supplements for health boosts and maintenance.
She also had more time to focus on reaching people through social media.
“We went from hundreds of views to thousands, and now we’re in the ten thousands. The more eyes you have helps to increase patient load,” said Lindsey-Taylor. “It also helped that when there is uncertainty there is money to be made. People had questions, and we were already set and ready to give them answers.”
Husband and wife team Mark and Anissa Davis’ current business model was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. They run WARcycle, a veteran-owned wellness company in Lexington Park, Md. that provides group fitness classes.
Before the virus shut down the country, the pair had been renting cycling rooms and equipment in gyms to serve their clients. A few months before lockdown, the Davis’ were able to purchase 22 cycling bikes of their own.
“Up until the pandemic, we were not doing anything with the bikes. They were sitting in storage, and we were still paying to rent space to conduct classes,” said Mark Davis. “Once all the gyms and most other businesses closed their doors, it came to us that we had an opportunity to do something that no one else was doing. That was to start doing outdoor classes and become a mobile fitness company.”
Today, WARcycle travels through Maryland, Virginia and D.C. The company partners with local businesses to host outdoor and indoor classes on location. It’s also expanded its services, adding a hip-hop step class and community walking group to the lineup.
Most recently, the Davis’ launched a nonprofit, CycleBack, to deliver fitness services to community members who cannot afford gym memberships or do not have adequate access to gyms.
“We’ve actually seen an increase in sales, not just from an uptick in customers but also in eliminating overhead charges that we were paying before the pandemic,” said Mark Davis. “The biggest take-away has been being flexible and prepared to pivot when necessary.”
For more information on E3 Business Group or Eagle Soaring Management Corps, please visit https://eaglesoaringmgmt.com/overview.
