19 Stories of Women Who Found Deeper Purpose & Successfully Pivoted During the Pandemic

On July 3, Rolling Stone published the article “Coronavirus is Killing the Working Mother.”

I typically love articles like this one, because I believe it’s incredibly important to share how women are disproportionately affected in the workplace, and the pandemic was no exception with an estimated 2.2 million women leaving the workforce between February and October 2020 (source).

But this time, with every word I read of the article, the more fired up I became.

I couldn’t help but think, “I’m a working mother, is the Coronavirus killing me?!” Has all of the momentum and advancement of women been stifled in one fell swoop? It was as if someone was saying to me, “Nice try ladies, maybe next time!”

I decided to document another side of the story ? one that I believe to be equally true ? that women are uniquely positioned to thrive, even in times of crisis...

AND WE ARE.

I hope you will be inspired, and get a break from the bad news, with these 19 stories of women who are not only surviving but THRIVING during the Coronavirus. 

Warmest thanks to the members and friends of Women Entrepreneurs Inc who allowed me to share their stories.

STORY 01

Jennifer Belshe, Novus Advisors [Finance]

At Novus Advisors, we serve as trusted financial advisors for companies, retirement plan participants and individuals. In times like these, our clients need our assistance more than ever. There are so many questions, and how a person responds during a financial crisis has a significant impact on her/his financial future. Through calls and virtual meetings, we have walked alongside our clients to answer questions, evaluate financial plans and provide investment advice. As a company, we have provided flexibility to our employees to enable them to both serve clients and manage their families. We are also actively recruiting advisors to join our team. As a mom of a ten-year-old boy, we spent the last three months of the school year doing virtual school at my office. My son now understands a lot more about what his mom does every day -- it was a great learning experience! 

STORY 02

Tricia Peterson, Island House Real Estate [Real Estate]

At the start of the pandemic, I pooled my resources by using vacant Airbnb properties and clients with vacant FROGs to set up free housing for medical workers. I was overwhelmed by the support of people reaching out to volunteer spaces for front line workers. I also used this time to ramp up my marketing materials, I earned my Luxury Home Marketing Specialist certification that I hadn’t previously been able to make time to complete and found time to teach my children and husband how to help with administrative and marketing tasks that I had been doing myself. We definitely used this time to improve our business and it’s been a wonderful experience to have my family helping, which has freed up more of my time. 

STORY 03

Kim Percival, Coach [Professional/Personal Development]

I am a personal leadership coach and a creative using this time to go deeper into my mission and purpose, engaging in a brand strategy engagement and creating clarity on the world I want to create on the other side of this. This has resulted in 2 new business launches, a rebrand of my coaching, and an online presence for Loosely Gathered, a space of purposeful ceramics and conversational gatherings designed to amplify connection and relationship. All the while reveling in the opportunity to include my young daughters in the changes and discussions of my business. Our children are watching and learning from us now more than ever. Let's be present to how we want them to see us.

STORY 04

Priscilla Holmes, Cilla Travel [Travel & Recreation]

I am a Travel Advisor who has been actively educating my clients on how to determine when to travel, how to choose their destination, how to navigate the varying protocols in various destinations, and how to travel safely.

STORY 05

Pat Eardley, Shift HR [Human Resources]

My company helps small business owners manage the daily, tactical needs of their people as well as the overarching strategic needs of their company. During the pandemic, we became extremely busy answering questions about the CARES Act and helping small businesses understand their options. Through the process, I learned that many businesses felt they had to “go it alone.” In response, we launched an online HR support portal for small business owners with videos, webinars, and resources. In addition, my experience inspired me to launch another venture, Early Entrepreneurs Coach Calls (EEC). EEC will support new business owners with quick tips, processes, and direction as they build their businesses. I started my business in 2009, during the largest financial downturn of our generation, and we will be celebrating 11 years in business next month. So, I think I've earned a little street cred! 

STORY 06

Lindsay Cash Kosal, Pearl Dental Studio [Healthcare]

Our dental practice in Simpsonville, SC had been open for approximately 7 weeks before COVID forced us to close our doors for 7 weeks. Being thrust into a full-time-stay-at-home-mom-crisis-and-quarantine-survival-mode while trying to keep my new business from crumbling, all while trying to keep my 2-year old out of my husband’s office so he could work, was a daunting task! But, I was determined to make it work and I decided to focus on the things that were in my control. I started learning as much as I possibly could about social media marketing, Instagram, Facebook, and also networked with other small businesses that have now become my friends. My fellow small businesses were in a similar situation to me and were truly the only people that could fully understand what I was going through. The momtrepreneur struggle is real, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

STORY 07

Amanda Sheridan, Charleston Bag Valet [Hospitality]

Running a start-up within the travel/ hospitality industry during these uncertain times has been a struggle, to say the least. When others closed their doors and customers started to cancel reservations, I found ways to utilize my fleet of drivers to provide delivery of essential goods to the elderly in our community under quarantine. I was enrolled in a business accelerator program which I continued while homeschooling 3 kids (which was the most stressful experience EVER!) that culminated in a Pitch Event that I won! Despite everything, I’m still trying to take advantage of the quiet to really saturate the local market with brand awareness. I also launched "Hospitality Helpers," a referral program that gives other impacted businesses the ability to use Charleston Bag Valet as an additional revenue stream. #strongertogether 

STORY 08

Iskra Perez-Salcedo, ISP Accounting Services [Finance]

I have partnered with organizations to bring webinars to small businesses that help them navigate through the various SBA programs.

STORY 09

LB Adams, Practical Dramatics [Public Speaking]

My company, Practical Dramatics, is a spectacular soft-skills training company. We make our living almost exclusively with in-person and interactive events. I was/am forced to discover how we can continue to serve our clients and potential clients in a way that is safe and authentic to us, our brand, and our philosophies. From that idea, we created a skill-building video series called "Snack-Sized Skills for the Pandemic." From that idea, we considered how disconnected the quarantine has made many people and businesses. We became inspired to launch a Zoom-based talk show "Snack-Sized Business." Not only have we created something that connects people to us, but we also get to highlight really cool, smart people, doing the cool, smart things they love to do. It's a giant win. 

STORY 10

Jenne Sevilla, Outrigger Financial [Finance]

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER?, I provide financial advice & guidance in a meaningful and affordable way. My mission is to help women make impactful decisions with their money and feel confident with their money saving strategies. Delivering advice in a convenient, timely, and efficient way is important to women who already feel their time is stretched thin. Through virtual meetings, easy scheduling, money management tools, and highly-skilled, personalized advice, I have helped many women through these challenging times.

STORY 11

Erin Healey Ledford, Charleston Home Stagers and Minimalist Living [Real Estate]

I am a mom of 2 active boys, ages 11 and 10. We were all thrown for a loop when this began and we had to figure out how to have the kids at home taking classes via Zoom and independent study while I was very busy as a top producing Realtor. I decided to really streamline my business and get laser-focused on my priorities. I brought on another Realtor whom I trust, which allows me to look at each of my client’s specific situations and decide whether I should handle it myself, through our combined team, or refer them to her directly. Through my new venture, Minimalist Living, I coach people on how to live a more streamlined, minimalist life from mental health to decluttering to financial wealth. Although this has certainly been a challenging time for many, we can all do hard things. We just have to prioritize what is MOST important and cut the rest out!

STORY 12

Shennice Pruitt Cleckley, Smart Cookie Coaching [Business Development]

Yes. I’m working from home while homeschooling my children, caring for my aging parents, and taking care of my family. Through it all, my business is growing with new contracts and new projects all accomplished from home.

STORY 13

Kia Young, The Social Crown [Marketing]

Being a (serial) entrepreneur means that flexibility and nimbleness were skills already in my arsenal. COVID has created the necessity to get crystal clear on what matters most in our business and our personal lives. This stretch has forced us to reimagine our lives and our business, to be curious, and as a by-product for many, to trust ourselves, be more confident, and more present in all aspects of our lives. And while it was unexpected and tough, it is not impossible. I know many women entrepreneurs who have been more successful over the last few months in their business because we've had to get uncomfortable and shift our perspectives and expectations.

STORY 14

Chris Wigotow Quinn, E-House Studio [Marketing]

I'm a co-owner of eHouse Studio, an eCommerce agency that I run with my husband and an awesome team of employees. We are blessed to be busier than ever with work which has meant that balancing the working mom thing has been a challenge. I'm lucky that my kids are young teenagers/pre-teens and they can fend for themselves during most days. While I'd like to think my time is creating positive change in my business, I am also becoming more aware of leading by example and how we might be creating the next generation of entrepreneurs. Over the last few months, my kids have listened to me during client meetings, hold interviews, have hard conversations, work late, get up early, take a day off when I need to because I can, make decisions, feel defeated, celebrate wins, and continue the journey week after week because I am the one that is also growing and learning. My kids have decided to start their own business after watching how hard we work which for me feels like true success. Instead of being scared of hard work, they are motivated by it! 

STORY 15

Nesha Frazier, Courage Hackers [Professional/Personal Development]

My business is Courage Hackers. It's personal development for women over the age of 30. During COVID, I spent dozens of hours in conversations with ambitious women over 30 who said the reasons they were settling for good enough versions of their lives was because they lacked time to pursue their big goals. So I was helping with time management and productivity. But when COVID became a factor, and they had more time, the real issues presented themselves. So it helped me realize that success would look a lot like teaching them how to ACT before they ARE in order to BECOME. And I switched my entire process.

STORY 16

Liz Simpson, The #BigMoney Movement [Business Development]

As a mom of a toddler (and two teens) who is not willing to do childcare due to uncertainty - I had to find out how to run my business working only Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings (splitting the work week with my husband). The challenge forced me to rethink my business model and put a premium on my time. Thus, we've experienced exponential revenue growth, hired new team members, and solidified a movement serving other women entrepreneurs (which is now my core focus) while still serving our corporate clients. It's not been easy, but it has been a blessing in disguise in many forms.

STORY 17

Alyssa Smith, Premier Connects

In all this chaos, I find myself reflecting often. I am most proud of our team of hard-working and AMAZING humans (primarily women). I am not a big believer in the generalization that women have it harder than men. However, in times like this where compassion is essential, our women-led team wrapped their arms around our executives in the same way we always have, but it resonated differently than ever before. We approached our events with a renewed appreciation and showed up with topics and issues that we knew were important. We found ways to bring together leaders who navigated tough times so that we could learn from each other from success and failures along the way. I do not have absolute certainty of what 2021 and beyond will hold for our tiny business. But I do know, now more than ever, that strength that lies within our team, and I am thankful every single day for the opportunity to keep on keepin' on with some kick (you know what) individuals who make me excited to wake up and plant my feet on the ground each morning.

STORY 18

Whitney McDuff, Whitney McDuff Consulting [Business Development]

My pivot happened after the speaking industry temporarily crashed, seemingly overnight. Since my work is in launching and building public speaker brands, I felt the heat immediately. Knowing the industry would come back, I decided to pivot and give people what they wanted and needed since everyone was home and could learn virtually. I asked my audience what they wanted, and the answer was clear - people wanted to understand how to build their speaker brand, book gigs, and do their own PR. So I created an online course around it. I ended up going from losing 60 percent of my income in the first eight days of COVID to having the most successful month of my business ever. It is crucial during uncertain times to remember this: ask people what they want, and be ready to create it. We all have such valuable knowledge, but sometimes we have to adjust the sails on how we deliver it. 

STORY 19

Lydia Paasch, CPB, MLP Accounting & Consulting, LLC [Business Development]

We started this year coming off of our best year yet and a 3-year growth spurt. However, I had a few clients that I knew were struggling, and being a bookkeeper, I had a unique situation of being able to see my client's books and see when they were coming up short each month. The problem was, I had boxed myself in a corner by promoting myself solely as a bookkeeper. Most of my clients saw me as a data entry person, and the relationship was more of an outsourced employee. After losing close to half of our clients at the beginning of this year, I spent the rest of the year revamping our systems and packages to include coaching and education for our clients so they can understand and utilize their financial reports to make informed decisions regarding investments and growth. We went from having a menu of services that clients can pick and choose from to a streamlined review and onboarding process that leads them to a choice of 3 monthly programs that include our three most popular services, QuickBooks training, and financial education components. We have plans to expand to include a video training library, Webinar series, blog, and potentially a course. We are also looking at the potential of expanding into Tax and Personal Finance Education. We took the huge step of changing our name (for clarity purposes) this month and completely revamped our website. This month we have added two new clients and are looking forward to what 2021 one holds! 

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Melissa Barker is the Founder & CEO of Women Entrepreneurs Inc., a membership platform that is making the new rules for women entrepreneurs through educational events, premium partnership opportunities, and curated connections.

Learn more about becoming a member, speaker, or partner at womenentrepreneursinc.com.