The Uprise for Some Oklahoma City Businesses Boom During the Global Lockdown of the Pandemic
The state of Oklahoma has taken a solid hit from the Covid-19 pandemic; not only have the citizens within Oklahoma suffered, but many small businesses, therein, have taken a solid hit as well. On the upside, there are a handful of small businesses that have actually been on the uprise ever since Covid took over and made the state go into “lockdown.”
“I think that the pandemic has taught society a lot, as well as myself. It almost feels like this was meant to happen for people to count their blessings and realize how valuable the gift of life truly is,” said Abbey White, a musician and worker for Beyond Janitorial.
As the COVID-19 Pandemic erupted, it caused many businesses (big and small) to permanently close their doors to the public and go out of business, some small businesses thrived during this time and were able to make more of a profit during this time of trial and tribulation than they were ever able to with their businesses pre-covid.
Andrew Lawrence, Morgan Hartman and Abbey White explain their separate experiences within their small businesses and how the pandemic has shifted the way that they do things in their specified areas of expertise. Their stories bring out the positive aspects that the pandemic brought to their businesses, which they are very thankful for.
Morgan Hartman discussed her cleaning business, Beyond Janitorial, and the challenges and positive aspects that she recognized throughout the global Pandemic. Video taken via zoom by Jade Porter
Although cleaning services and lawn maintenance/pest control are two very differing businesses, they both hold one similar fact; the pandemic has made each of their businesses boom and they did not find the result of this surprising in the least. Who wouldn’t want to maintain a super clean work space for their employees, and who doesn’t trust an outdoor weed and pest sprayer to keep their lawn maintained when they know they will have no human interaction with them in the fear of catching Covid? Nobody. So these factors helped their businesses not only maintain steady, but increased their cliental volume by quite a bit.
I was able to speak with Abbey White, an employee with Beyond Janitorial, and she describes the pandemic uprise of the business that she has been working with, for a little over a year now, “insane.” She described the immediate demand of cleaning services to feel a little “overwhelming” to her personally.
Everything seemed to be cruising along as normal and then Covid-19 hit and “BOOM,” Beyond Janitorial became one of the most sought out cleaning businesses around because many of the competing companies had gone under during this time. White actually quit her previous job because the business with Beyond Janitorial had sky-rocketed so high that it would have been silly for her to not jump on board with such a great opportunity to thrive. For a small business to be able to not only survive, but rather thrive in the middle of a global pandemic is unheard of (but also, this is the first “pandemic” that most, if not all, that this generation of people have lived through).
“I feel really really bad for the smaller businesses that have forced business owners to close their doors and shut their businesses down due to lack of sales and funding difficulties. I could not imagine going through something like that; I am beyond grateful to be a part of a business that is able to help keep offices, businesses and residential housing clean and safe for everyone, I hope that I am somewhat doing a good deed during a tragic time,” Hartman stated.
It is clear that the pandemic has had a very serious impact on society and everybody’s daily life activities. This pandemic that businesses have had to endure on a global scale has shocked the world; however, it is nice to know that some small and local businesses are continuing to do their best to help the community stay safe and do everything in their power to rebuild the community.
“I think things will begin to get better as time moves forward, but people have to continue working and not use this pandemic as an excuse to be lazy and quit their jobs. I know a lot of my buddies have had a hard time through this whole pandemic, but I try to keep them positive and motivated and they know I’m always there for them,” Lawrence said.
