Deep Dive: How 6 Small Businesses Are Confronting Coronavirus

In this article, we dive deep into 6 companies, exploring how they’re weathering the fallout from the novel coronavirus. The report looks at industries across the spectrum, zeroing in on the specific problems and solutions faced by these operators:

1. Marketing: Scout Collective — a brand strategy and digital marketing studio — is helping clients get the most impact from their marketing dollars by crafting messages around loyalty, community, and empathy.
   
2. Events: SnapBar — a custom photo and video booth rental company — is trying to navigate widespread event cancellations by repurposing its existing resources to launch new products.
   
3. Cleaning: Hip Maids — an on-demand cleaning service — is having difficulty meeting new business requests as school closures are forcing its workers to stay at home.
   
4. Beauty: The Sparkle Bar — a makeup and beauty studio — is transitioning to “tele-cosmetics” as social distancing is keeping customers away.
   
5. Manufacturing: Get It Made — a manufacturing-as-a-service firm — has been able to weather the manufacturing slowdown with a diversified supply chain.
   
6. Newsletter: Intelligent Prepper — a weekly newsletter chronicling threats including everything from riots to volcanoes — has become a useful coronavirus resource while also keeping a long view into the type of content that an audience will want when the coronavirus pandemic passes.

10 Minute Read

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Amid Widespread Cancellations, a Marketing Agency Looks to Stays Relevant by Building Communities

• The business: Scout Collective, a brand strategy and digital marketing studio
• The challenge: Projects placed on hold; clients’ marketing budgets will likely shrink
• The solution: Develop brand messaging that builds customer loyalty, community, and empathy

Troy Monroe (center), with two of his employees (via Monroe)

Early last week, Troy Monroe received a Facebook notification highlighting a memory from 5 years ago. It was a post he had written about leaving a full-time job and how nervous and excited he was to launch Scout Collective, his brand and digital marketing studio.