How These 3 Small Businesses Kept The Doors Open During COVID-19

By Hope Dean for Debt.com

June 5, 2020

More than 100,000 small businesses have closed their doors for good due to COVID-19.[1] But some have found creative ways to keep from falling to their knees.

It’s not because of the small business loans the government was giving out. Those have run dry, and it turned out that big businesses were getting most of the money, anyways.[2]

It’s because they read the room and began to sell just what people want — pandemic-themed products. Here are three small business owners who are doing better than ever during the pandemic and how they learned to adapt.

Aloria Cakes and Gourmet Sweets: New York

Anastasia Cunningham, owner and sole baker of Aloria Cakes and Gourmet Sweets in Astoria, New York, used to make 95% of her profits on large events like weddings and birthdays — but COVID-19 had other plans.

“When it first started and I was reading up on it I was like, ‘Oh my God, do you think it’ll affect weddings?’” she said. “It was affecting huge [event] venues, like 10,000 people, but then it just kept trickling down.”

Cunningham usually specializes in custom cakes, meaning no two are alike. However…