COVID-19 Small Business Pains...And God's response...

2020 was going to be Amazing!

Over the years, we had worked really hard to grow our small business name.

We exercised every possible outlet in our tiny town with very little success. Trying to sell on FB marketplace, having big shop sales from a cute small temporary shop set up we had while renovating what was to be our actual shop later, posting up signs,  etc.

Unfortunately, despite our most incredible efforts, we just couldn't seem to draw the traffic in.

From the local economy, our unfortunate location opposed to everybody and everything, copy cats, intellectual property theft, and

online censoring of small businesses due to keywords,

we just couldn't seem to win.

😵😵😵

So in the winter of 2019, we decided that come the spring of 2020, we would start hitting the local flea markets.

We were even talking about opening a couple booths at local year-round indoor flea markets.

It seemed to work for lots of others,

and at that point,

what did we have to lose❔❔❔

It was time for a game-changer.

We knew to succeed in our line of work, we were going to have to take our furniture and decor merchandise out of town.

There was just no way around it. We were drowning in small-town Oklahoma.

And we were going to have to pull out at all the stops.

Going all the way in detail, just to compete.

So, we ordered new uniform shirts that literally broke down precisely what we specialized in and had some fabulously stylish hats made.

We had custom work aprons made, so we could even work on-site.

And a custom stamp for tags made,

along with a stencil for stenciling our bags - paper & reusable. 

We purchased cute little stickers to seal the bags showing our gratitude to those who support small businesses. Bought a tent, tables, table cloths, made displays, signage for the tables, had banners printed, you name it.

We even had a display book made to showcase some of our work.

Overachievers? Maybe, but

WE WERE READY!...

2020 was going to be the year things changed,

both for our family and our business...(Or so we thought.)

We were wrong...

Just days before our first flea market event, we got word that the flea market wasn't going to be opening due to COVID-19.

( You are in such shock after all of your hard work.

The Praying, Planning, Designing, Ordering, Measuring, Calling, Stamping, Stenciling, Repeat...

 All you can think is, is,

What in the world is COVID-19!?

And what gives it the right to turn my life ENTIRELY upside down? )

What we didn't know at that time was that not only was our local flea market going to be closed down for most of the year,

but EVERY flea market was going to be closed.

And it only got worse.

We soon realized that the entire world was going to lose its mind,

and we were all going to start being told that the only way for us to survive this horrible life-sucking disease

was to live in fear, or in fact,

not live at all,

in the most alive way possible.

It was hard to wrap your mind around.

It was devastating...

All at once, we were being told we could no longer survive as we always had.

We could no longer be around our neighbors, friends, or relatives.

And if that wasn't painful enough,

we were being told we could not be around our customers?

You might as well go ahead and kill us. NOBODY wants to live like that.

Being told these words was going to be a death sentence to most small businesses...It was just a matter of time.

People stopped ordering things because they were also losing their source of income. They stopped having items shipped to their homes for fear of possible contaminated packages.

They even stopped contacting us for advice on home decorating and remodeling.

After a few weeks of living under this consent gloom, we started to think about becoming concerned...

But God wouldn't allow it.

We leaned into our faith, prayed harder, and waited.

 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint."

- Isaiah 40:31

We knew he was the ONLY solution for what was attempting to tear our lives apart...

And all of a sudden, we started getting calls.

LOTS of calls!

All of the praying, clinging to our faith alone, and trusting only in God to carry us through had worked!

By the grace of God alone,

to spite what the country was reporting about our current financial dilemma,

people decided it was the perfect time to catch up

on their DIY projects, remodel their homes, and redecorate.

And God began pushing them our way, and some in the oddest of ways. 

We knew that if we continued to trust in him, 

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5

 He would not fail us.

And one way or another, we would be able to make it through this.

It's not over,

but...we're not afraid.

In fact, we're making plans AGAIN.

#WalkingNotFainting

If you're a small business owner and have experienced the effects of

COVID-19 Small Business Pains,

We'd love for you to leave us a comment below.

We'd like to add you to our prayer list.

Or maybe you too have a testimony to share; we'd love to hear it,

and watch God use you to bless the hearts of others.

Either way, reach out to us, your story is essential and may not only bless someone else, but it will remind others that we are not alone. We are in this together, and the only way we are going to survive it is by trusting God, lifting each other up, and standing in faith.

"But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." - 1 Peter 5:9