These LA Small Businesses Found Success During COVID Here’s How:
Collaboratively written by: Camille Acevedo, Troy Barnes, Nicole Quiterio and Mica Thomas
A Nappily Naturals employee mixed together herbs and spices to create a “colon-cleanse,” over 8,000 people have watched it on Tik Tok, and the customers loved it. Through this platform, and other social media, small businesses such as Nappily Naturals was able to find success during the pandemic.
Los Angeles has had the most small businesses lost during the pandemic, according to a 2020 economic study from Yelp. Since the start of the pandemic, over 7,000 businesses in LA have closed permanently. Small business owners were forced to find creative ways to maintain customers and follow COVID safety guidelines, and yet through these measures some were able to find success.
Some owners decided to expand their outside seating and others are enforcing temperature checks for every customer in order to stay open. Other businesses decided to take a different route, and expand their brand and audience online, through social media, and other various forms of technology.
Here’s how these five small businesses’ use of technology helped them succeed:
Nappily Naturals, Leimert Park :
Nappily Naturals, Leimert Park’s shop for all things holistic health, has substantially grown since the pandemic.
Husband and wife, Umaar Askia and Sharon Williams-Askia, founded the store in 2018.
The lack of access to natural healing products in the Black community inspired the couple to be the change they wanted to see.
Sharon Williams-Askia, says business during the pandemic has been very telling. “People are more into their health now and focusing on how to heal naturally, “ she said.
The shift in popularity from allopathic medicine to holistic healing has boosted their sales and engagement from customers all over the country.
Implementing online ordering to their website has gifted out-of-state customers the opportunity to purchase their many products for health and wellness. While online ordering was available before the pandemic, the store saw an increase once the coronavirus struck. In addition to online ordering, customers can also have some of their favorite products delivered the same day through the Ubereats app.
Williams-Askia attributes their success regarding the adaption of technology to their younger staff, as the business has also gained a large following on social media which they didn’t have when they first opened shop. Their use of social media and marketing has gained the attention of thousands. The store now has a following of over 20,000 users on Instagram.
Assam Burroughs has been a loyal customer since the start of the pandemic. Burroughs shares that he prefers to come and shop in-store because of the unique experience. “When you walk in, you just fall in love…nothing beats the in-store experience, but I do appreciate the convenience of online shopping when I can’t make it in,” he said.
Through the pandemic, local customers have continued to shop in-store for the experience.
“A lot of my customers that are online are out of state…if they live here, they’re coming here.” Williams-Askia said.
The store currently operates under their Covid-19 hours from 1 pm-6 pm Tuesday-Friday, and 10:30 am-6 pm on Sundays. Safety protocols such as social distancing and frequent sanitizing are still implemented for a safe in-store shopping experience.
Honu Coffee, Newhall and House Roots Coffee, Granada Hills:
“More than half of Americans drink coffee daily,” according to a survey conducted by the National Coffee Association in 2020. Whether it is a quick stop before work or a late-night coffee date with a friend, there are many reasons why coffee is loved by Americans. Technology has played a significant role in the process of ordering coffee especially when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
People stayed home during the Los Angeles County Safer at Home order, making it hard for businesses to survive. Restaurants and stores implemented curbside delivery as a way to practice social distancing. Food chains and coffee companies such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean were ahead of the game having apps for customers to order through. Coffee shops such as Honu Coffee and House Roots Coffee, who don’t have their own applications, had to implement ways to reduce contact when customers wanted to place an order.
Honu Coffee shop, located in Newhall, and rated 4.5 stars on Yelp, uses the application Joe Coffee for customers to order online. During the pandemic, Honu implemented curbside pickup for customers as a way to practice social distancing. Established in 2014, Joe Coffee Order Ahead has helped small coffee shops reach new customers and make sales. The app works with local coffee shops allowing customers to order through the app and participate in curbside or other forms of contactless pickup.
House Roots Coffee shop in Granada Hills, rated 4.5 stars on Yelp, created a way for customers to order drinks, equipment, merchandise, and retail coffee on their website. When customers visit their website, they can order online, something that they couldn’t do before the pandemic. The coffee shop currently remains closed for indoor seating, but customers can order inside as long as they wear a mask. They can also order through service apps such as Grubhub and Food Boss for delivery.
“It’s so convenient that they offer online ordering, I get to avoid the long lines and practice social distancing,” Vivian Parada said.
Little Woman Goods, Los Angeles:
Little Woman Goods has set up shop at numerous outdoor markets like the 626 Night Market in Arcadia, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and more recently the Melrose Trading Post in Los Angeles, but retains a strong online presence with their website, Instagram and Etsy shop.
“I was scrolling through my Instagram and found one of [Little Woman’s] ads for their pins. I feel like it could have been one of those targeted things because I was looking at pins from a different artist earlier in the day and also took a picture of their booth at 626 [Night Market]. I wanted to buy one then but after I saw the ad I went to their website and bought a couple of them and I love them,” said Rebecca Singleton, a customer of Little Woman Goods.
E-commerce has been especially productive for their small business.
Their Etsy store has amassed 33,553 sales with five stars across thousands of reviews. Their growth on the platform also mirrors Etsy’s growth during the pandemic, with the company reporting profits of $1.73 billion in 2020 and saw its gross merchandise sales top $10.28 billion, up almost $5 billion from 2019 according to CNBC.
Technology is steadily influencing every part of our lives, but its unique relationship with art has created a boom for both corporations and creators. Little Woman Goods is one of the businesses on the forefront of that boom and with the pandemic slowly starting to wane, the future holds many bright prospects for them and other small businesses.
The Ugly Mug Coffee House, Burbank:
While The Ugly Mug Coffee House remained open by continuing take-out orders, they still wanted to give their customers an experience that was positive and memorable, which they were able to do through their Instagram. With over 9,000 followers and daily posts, The Ugly Mug’s Instagram has become a home to their customers. A place where they can interact with the owners and employees and get ideas for their next must-have drink.
Owners, Steve and Emily Nalbantian, have successfully built a community of loyal customers over the last three and a half years. With the start of COVID, they were able to continue building relationships with their customers in a virtual setting as they kept their community updated and entertained through social media posts.
“The technology of social media has been amazing,” said Emily Nalbantian.“Its given us a platform to connect outside the four walls of our coffee shop.” The most important thing for the Nalbantians was maintaining a connection with their customers despite the pandemic’s rules of social distancing.
Their goal was to have every follower to be a potential customer, someone they could see one day walk into their shop. They were able to accomplish this through interacting with other profiles that were within their community.
“We have followers that actually come into our shop, and that are local, thats what we want.” said Nalbantian.
Emily Nalbantian explained that she tries to stay creative with what she posts. “I try not to look too ‘Instagramy,’ because then you’re not going to get noticed,” instead she posts things like funny videos featuring her employees or hand decorated cups that match the season.
The two encourage other small business owners to think locally when developing their Instagram as it will encourage real people to walk through the doors.
To find out more about The Ugly Mug visit them on Instagram or Facebook.
These LA small businesses were able to use various forms of technology to boost their sales and continue to stay open. Their success came from their passion for their small businesses and their dedication to their communities.
