By Ruth Ogunsanwo
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
While the pandemic forced many businesses to close their doors, Byron R. Perez Lopez, owner of B&J Truck Repair Inc., worked more than ever before.
It was slow at first and supply chain disruptions caused a long wait on orders. And Lopez, the sole provider for his family, often worked alone because he worried for their safety. But business continued to trickle in.
“There was an increase in customers about two months later, business picked up back to normal,” Lopez said.
Despite the pandemic, some businesses have managed to blossom more than ever before.
“I do a lot of training in development, anything that’s hands on usually occurs in person,”’ said Dr. Johnetta Thurston, owner of JDA Management and Consulting Group. “Clients didn’t necessarily cancel contracts, but they put it on hold.”
Thornton said she was able to switch to a virtual platform “almost seamlessly,” and continued to conduct classes.
“We were able to conduct classes as usual without any hesitation,” Thurston said.
She had to pay more for the virtual platforms, but she didn’t mind doing that because now she doesn’t have to travel anymore. She now works from a home office and sometimes feels a little guilty because her company did so well while others closed.
“You want to feel good and rejoice about your success but then you feel bad because there was someone that didn’t make it,” Thurston said.
Local grocery stores also saw an increase in sales.
“The government funded food stamps that people could only use to purchase food, which caused the increase of sales,” said Abraham Marfo, owner of All-in-One International Market. “It was busier than normal. Everyone wanted to stock up their home because they were afraid of what was going to happen.”
Even if these businesses were still up and running, routines including virtual learning, wearing a mask and maintaining a six-foot distance became a regular part of everyday, even while interacting with customers.
“As we were busy running a business, we still had to be mindful that we had to keep a distance and some customers get upset if we reminded them,” Marfo said.
Thurston hopes that people can continue to keep the faith that life will always find a way to go on.
“If you’re uncomfortable with change, you need to get comfortable with change,” she said, “because there are some things that you will never be able to control.”