Covid Who?

By India Gustin

With the outbreak of the pandemic, thousands of brands have suffered all over the world. Yet it doesn’t seem to have scared these small businesses from starting their own brands from scratch during these unprecedented times.

In the UK alone, about a quarter of all businesses have closed since April 2020 due to Covid-19. This has created mass layoffs and closures all over the world, causing major economic shocks with a lot of businesses left to their own devices.

Felicia Granados, 25, is one of the many people who found themselves without a job when Covid hit. After being laid off from her job as a flight attendant, she was hired to be a Covid screener in the film industry, only to be let go once again. “Losing two jobs during one pandemic has been very overwhelming to say the least,” she said.

Although the pandemic has shut down many startup brands and has devastated even the bigger industries, some businesses were actually created during these unprecedented times. 

Jessie Cramer, 18, started her handmade jewellery business, LavaJewe1s, in October of 2020. She believes that if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, she wouldn’t have had the time to start her small business. “I had so much time on my hands that I thought it was a sign,” she said. 

Ivy Edgar could not agree more: “This is the universe giving me an opportunity.” She created her clothing brand, IvyElizabethe, in mid-September of 2020, specialising in corsets. “Honestly, if Covid wasn’t a thing I don’t even know what I would be doing right now.”

With a dramatic change in her career, Felice Granados felt like she needed to do something to get her back on her feet. “I tried to pick up new hobbies like everyone else to help me cope,” she said.

“[People are] rearranging their furniture, they’re painting their walls, their trying to fix up their space and they are very much into online shopping nowadays […] So I connected the two.”

That’s when she started making 100% natural soy wax candles and made the decision to start selling them outside of her friends and family. “I lost my jobs and then all of a sudden I found myself melting soy wax…I would honestly laugh at myself […] It’s important to live life with a bit of humour,” she said.

Although the pandemic may be the main reason why these brands came to life, Covid has made it tough for them to grow. 

“[Covid] caused a huge delay in shipments. This mainly affected the packages I was shipping out to customers but it also caused quite a bit of delay with packages of materials I’d order,” said Cramer. 

She realises that although her online sales are flourishing, she would have wanted to take part in market days to interact more with her customers: “I would have loved to do an in-person sale with a bunch of things on display.” 

Covid or not, these particular brands are adamant that if someone wants to become a small business owner, they should do so without hesitation: “Don’t let the pandemic scare you away or stop you from doing it,” said Cramer.

Granados agrees: “Just go for it […] If there is one thing we know about this pandemic is that everything is so unpredictable.”