Facing the unexpected and unparalleled challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses across Fort Wayne are impacted in different ways.
For some, the question isn’t “Will they survive?” It’s “How are they pivoting and adapting to thrive?”
A guidance and wellness center, an all-natural bath and skincare retailer, and a fitness studio in Fort Wayne are three woman-owned businesses innovating in a time of crisis, yet finding ways to stay true to their company’s deepest values.
While nothing could have prepared these business owners for the economic season and new challenges they’re facing, they are taking the newfound realities of the pandemic in stride and overcoming obstacles to make intelligent—and perhaps long-term—transformations.
Oaktree Guidance & Wellness Center
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Oaktree Guidance & Wellness Center is now offering telehealth services to connect with current and new clients.
Oaktree is a multidisciplinary, holistic health center, including a psychologist, acupuncturist, yoga teacher, massage therapist, nutritionist, and a naturopathic doctor.
These professionals learn from other disciplines to offer a non-dualistic approach to health and wellness, explains Owner, Jenny Seiss. She says that during the pandemic, her team has survived by shifting to serve their clients virtually through telehealth, instead of maintaining their in-person sessions.
“We felt like it was the socially responsible decision, although it has had a significant negative impact on our businesses,” Seiss says.
Despite the losses in the short-term, she believes that her team will continue to utilize their new telehealth technology in their work even after the social distancing mandate is lifted. In the meantime, they are offering free 30-minute “COVID consults” to anyone who needs some peace of mind right now as their therapists have extra time.
They’re doing this as a service to give back to the community, Seiss explains.
In the midst of uncertainty, she remains firm in her business’s mission to empower people to live authentically by accessing their deepest part of knowing.
She encourages other business owners “to practice selfcare, take things one day at a time, and think outside of the box.”
Narwhal and the Manatee
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The Narwhal and the Manatee are offering new products and weekly tutorial videos on social media.
When a young girl struggling with eczema inspired her mother to create inexpensive, all-natural, fair-trade bath and body care, the Narwhal and the Manatee company was born.
Megan Elizabeth Sutton, the Owner, says one way her business is navigating the treacherous waters of the pandemic is by creating products for the occasion. The Narwhal and the Manatee is now making hand sanitizer and powder face masks, which it plans to launch on Mother’s Day 2020. The company is also offering free delivery and pick up to customers with a 20-mile radius of Fort Wayne.
But that’s not all. An amped up social media presence and redesigned website are helping the retailer stay connected with the community, too.
“We are able to film at-home skin care tips that we are releasing every Friday (Face It Friday), teaching people how to use common items found in the kitchen that will help their skin stay healthy,” Sutton says.
Heeding advice from other female entrepreneurs to take this time to work on her business, Sutton is staying focused and energized about her work.
With her own sage advice to others is: Try something new.
“Whether it be to open an online store, Instagram shopping, selfie videos, whatever... now is the time,” Sutton says.
Triumph Studios
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Triumph Studios is a new fitness center, moving its services online.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Triumph Studios was planning its grand opening for May 1, 2020, as a premier fitness destination in Southwest Fort Wayne. Its facility features an indoor cycling theater, a boxing studio “where fight club meets nightclub,” and a bootcamp studio with workouts that leverage the science of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), its website says.
But as the COVID-19 pandemic forced gyms and fitness centers across the country to close, the new business found itself adapting from Day One, says Co-owner Corina Harkelroad.
“Without launching, we were dead in the water from a growth perspective because people had not been able to even taste our offer yet,” Harkelroad explains. “We pivoted to offer a full at-home platform 'Triumph Anywhere' on our website, starting April 8th.”
By shifting to face the pandemic head-on, Triumph was able to move up their opening date and maintain their mission of “connection through movement.” Now, the team is being transparent with customers on Facebook, too, relaying the company’s daily wins and losses to build community.
In addition to offering their services online, they are also giving back to local healthcare professionals, donating 16 bicycles.
In doing so, Harkelroad says her team has found that giving to others in a time of need has lifted their spirits, as well.
“They needed this, but we may have needed it more,” she explains. “Just to be aware and hear the anxiety they deal with was eye-opening. It gave us a new appreciation.”
As for advice to other business owners, she says: “Focus on what you can control. It’s a very simple sentence, yet so hard to do. We’ve seen mental success from accepting this, which is more valuable than financial any day.”