How Three Entrepreneurs Navigated Their Pandemic Pivot

Isolation and social distancing rules implemented during March propelled a whirlwind of chaos for a myriad of business owners. Several had to close doors and lay off employees temporarily, forcing many companies to come up with creative, innovative solutions to keep their business afloat. 

In this article, we will highlight three company owners who pivoted like a boss—pun intended. The following three ladies faced the challenges posed by COVID-19 head-on, and they worked endlessly to shift their business to stay relevant. 

Read on to find out how three out-of-box thinkers shifted their business over the last few months!

1. Marta Spirk, Empowerment Coach & Speaker

Marta Spirk is an empowerment coach and speaker for women. She started working in this field almost four years ago, after becoming a mom. She had triplets in 2016 in Brazil and moved to the US when the babies were 9-months-old. The move pushed her to find time for herself and pay attention to her thoughts, feelings, and needs. 

How did the pandemic affect her business, and what did she do to pivot?

Before COVID-19 hit, Marta had been focusing on in-person events, and workshops for women empowerment. At these workshops, she would have panels of ladies sharing their stories and expertise. On top of all of this, she also provided training, helping women see their beauty and worth within themselves. 

Because of the shutdown, the innovative empowerment coach had to revert to an online focus, which worked in her favor.

Marta grew her membership with more students who were looking for community and support during this time. 

Her virtual self-improvement site, The Empowered Woman School, is a safe space for women to take time for their personal development while creating meaningful connections and strong friendships with other women.

What internal and external changes did she have to go through to achieve her new way of doing things?

The mother of three had to revert to online because of the shutdown of in-person events. Marta thrives off of the energy exploding throughout get-togethers, so the shift propelled some sadness, naturally. However, she noticed that connecting with women in-person helped elevate her exposure. Most of the ladies that have joined her school are local.

When things go back to normal, she plans to pick the events back up but will continue focusing on growing the school online because it is a lot more practical to coordinate weekly meetings via Zoom.

Being "locked up" confirmed that she loves meeting in person, but it also showed her the power of being resourceful, adapting, and that women crave connection no matter how it happens. It also unveiled how her passion lies in helping women share their voice and stories - it empowers her, them, and everyone listening!

Where can you find out more about Marta and her business?

Visit her website: https://www.martaspirk.com/. On July 30, she's hosting a workshop to help women "overcome insecurities in uncertain times." The event asks women to come together to share stories of how they've overcome challenges and circumstances. She hopes attendees will keep "each other accountable to personal development and personal growth!"

2. Pam Foley, SEO Copywriting & Content Marketing Creative
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Pam Foley is an SEO copywriting and content marketing creative who helps business owners create content, branding, websites, and strategies. Her expertise has propelled dozens of entrepreneurs to build successful and on-going work, both on- and off-line. Her company? AOU Creative. 

Now, her company is an SEO copywriting and content marketing business that creates written work for clients across the industry. In addition, her company also offers web design for those who need a visual online brand story to make their content strategy effective.

How did the pandemic affect her business, and what did she do to pivot?

Before the pandemic hit, in fall 2019, Pam pivoted her business. She decided to get away from strategy consulting and shifted towards a full-focus on written work and digital design. 

Initially, this pivot resulted in a lot of web design work, but as the pandemic took hold and many businesses emerged online, Pam found that she needed to shift her focus. She quickly learned what her clients needed most from her company: SEO copywriting.

Do note that Pam is certified by Yoast, Google, Amazon, and HubSpot.

Now, her business is on track to have a great year financially, despite, or maybe because of, the pandemic.

What internal and external changes did she have to go through to achieve her new way of doing things?

Pam faced several challenges when she decided to pivot her business. The first, and most important, was her heightened irritation with "coaching" and the short-minded mindset of several clients (they had a difficult time understanding the marathon nature of building a business and wanted quick fixes). This frustration bled through her work, and soon she was struggling to gain new clients, which was very different than early in her work. 

Pam discovered that the time she spent writing and designing for clients was where she lost time and found joy. This helped her identify her path. 

Where can you find out more about Pam and her business?

Pam is no stranger to pivoting and reshaping her career. She's achieved degrees in communications and art, earned a doctorate of law, owned a successful law firm and a real estate practice, written books, worked as a writer for a Rueter's service, taught yoga, and so much more. 

And now she owns AOU Creative. Visit her website at https://aoucreative.com/ for a detailed glimpse into what Pam does, and maybe she can help you and your business achieve a stronger online presence!

3. Katie Wafer, Founder and CEO of Hydrate IV Bar
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Katie Wafer is the founder and CEO of Hydrate IV Bar, and her business was on the path of growth before the pandemic forced her to close on March 19. 

Throughout the last few months, the intelligent entrepreneur shares that her "best advice is to ask for help, engage in the community and with other business owners and do your best to accept change and continue to push forward." Being a non-essential business that runs off of serving people in person would cause most people to panic. Still, Katie used this time to improve her spas and to develop innovative ideas to keep her company relevant. 

How did the pandemic affect her business, and what did she do to pivot?

Due to COVID-19, she had to close three spas in Denver, one in Boulder, and postpone the opening of her fifth location, which was set for the week following March 19. The stay-at-home order propelled chaos across the globe, but Katie did whatever she could to keep her business afloat. 

The CEO notes that after 12 days of closure and no revenue from her services, she had to make the difficult decision to furlough her 40 employees. Despite this, her team stood by her side and continued to support one another.  

She says, "We became stronger because of this. We used this time to restructure our business, revamp the spas, create a weekly wellness webinar to keep members engaged, offer wellness products to be sold online as a secondary revenue stream and built new training programs and operation manuals for when we could reopen."

And on May 9, Denver and Boulder County approved her to open. Her team spent the next few weeks reopening all five stores. They also implanted new COVID procedures and altered schedules, but despite these changes, the Hydrate IV Bars dotting Denver and Boulder Country have been gaining more traction every week. 

Katie shares that "Our team has chosen to focus on the positives and count our wins, no matter how small."

Where can you find out more about Katie and her business?

Check out her website: https://hydrateivbar.com/. You can learn more about the newly implemented safety policies and their array of facilities, ranging from health and wellness, anti-aging beauty, immunity, relax and relieve, and so much more. 

Marta, Pam, and Katie have dedicated a lot of hours to pivoting their business during the pandemic. The stories shared by these three ladies only help to highlight that refocusing your business requires hard work and innovation. Perhaps their words will inspire others to continue powering through this pandemic!