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The Chronicle Herald • Sponsored Content
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
SALTWIRE.COM
Still standing, serving and selling Small business owners in HRM on how they’ve survived, and even thrived, through the COVID-19 pandemic JUDITH KAYS
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he past 19 months have been challenging for the small business owners who provide our essential services, local jobs and are an invaluable touchpoint in our communities. In facing these challenges, many have pivoted — there’s that word again — to meet them head on. More than half of small business owners in Nova Scotia don’t expect to return to pre-COVID operations for some time, and projections are similar for the rest of Canada’s 1.14 million small businesses. But there are success stories to celebrate here in the Halifax Regional Municipality — stories of resilience, perseverance, trust, community and kindness. Here’s how three local businesses made their way through the pandemic.
OVERCOMING THE ODDS
One of the hardest things for small businesses during the pandemic has been the uncertainty it’s caused. Glow The Event Store President Dave O’Connor says that even after nearly three decades in business, he had no way of planning for the pandemic’s impact on his business, as it changed on a near-daily basis. “Not knowing when we’d open back up, or for how many customers — as well as understanding group limits — has been among the biggest challenges,” says O’Connor. “Public health regulations were constantly changing and, just as we’d start to plan and be on the upswing, we were smacked with another shutdown.” For The Garden restaurant Owner Kourosh Rad, closing his restaurant just two weeks after opening hit hard. Things didn’t get any easier for him in those early days, with challenges around keeping operating levels normal due to food and staff shortages and increasing supply costs. PHIT’cetera boutique Owner Sandra Drover says this was challenging for her as well. “I’ve had a few key suppliers who haven’t been able to produce their garments because they can’t source the materials or the people to make them,” she says. “I’m very particular about the suppliers I use and conscious of the entire supply chain and life cycle of a garment … so when some were hard hit by COVID-19, I had to find other sustainable suppliers for inventory.” These are just some of the many challenges small businesses faced during the pandemic and now, on top of them, there are new challenges around staffing, new safety protocols, mask-wearing and vaccination policies. Many small business owners say that when compared to big businesses with more staff and resources, they’ve been left on their own to find solutions. “You can’t put this into a business plan,” says O’Connor. “Over the years, we’ve made small changes and pivots to grow our business, but this was unprecedented — none of us could have anticipated the drastic impact.”
Glow the Event Store Owner Dave O’Connor at one of the hand sanitizing stations they rent for events. Contributed
THE PANDEMIC ‘PIVOT’
Though HRM businesses have faced these significant challenges due to COVID-19, many have found innovative ways to adapt and pivot — a key word in business during these past 19 months.
Rad’s early days as a restaurant owner were hard ones, as he laid off nearly his entire staff and was faced with having to run the show himself. He pivoted to offering take-out coffee and treats to the surrounding community, and later
made Thanksgiving dinners that people could order during the lockdown, when they couldn’t see their families. “That’s when I knew that not only was the community helping us through this, but we were also helping them by providing a
small connection through food,” he says. O’Connor also came up with ideas to evolve through this new limited business structure, purchasing hand-sanitizing stations for public spaces and small gatherings and altering the Glow Gardens Christmas lights show. O’Connor says Glow also received a boost from the film industry as it began filming in Nova Scotia thanks to its safety protocols. Drover also saw a similarly unexpected business boost, as customers sought comfortable clothing as they began working from home. “I was able to quickly switch to an online platform and offered curbside pick-up. The community really got behind me, in terms of buying local,” she says. The past year and a half has caused small business owners to face unique challenges, changes and sleepless nights, but they’ve come through it thanks in large part to community support. Drover, O’Connor and Rad all agree that Nova Scotians and the province itself together did everything possible to keep people safe, and the economy going. “The amount of love and kindness from the community to support local businesses has been both a welcome surprise and an acknowledgement that we’re in this together,” says Rad. “People want us to succeed and I’m so grateful for that.”
RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY
Small and medium-sized businesses are significant contributors to the Canadian economy. For context, small businesses made up 98 per cent of all employer businesses in Canada in 2020, employing 9.7 million people in Canada, which equals
I think we are going to come out of this stronger than ever, despite the adversity and challenges and because of the support we’ve received. The community gives us a profound feeling that’s hard to put into words other than thank you. — Kourosh Rad, Owner, The Garden
Kourosh Rad, owner of The Garden in downtown Halifax says the pandemic set him back but didn’t stop him from serving his community. Contributed
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