The Coronavirus and the effect it has had on small business owners

Last year, many other small businesses, including myself were preparing for the year 2020. Aside from it being the start of a new decade, it was also a leap year. But for weddings, it was much much more.

Wedding dates with numeral patterns have always been popular when it comes to weddings. Aside from it looking cute on an invitation, it’s also a fun and memorable way to say your vows.

So last year when 2020 was drawing nearer, myself and my fellow friendors (friends who are also vendors) talked about the most popular dates and what would be the new trends. But none of us expected what actually came in 2020, nor the effect it would have on any of us.

Within 3 months, the entire service industry had collapsed. Because the governor had mandated that groups more than 10 were not allowed to congregate, many weddings had to reschedule or completely cancel. Unless you were deemed essential, you were forced to shut down until the end of April.

I saw several of vendors go out of business. I saw other vendors who had their hands in several cookie jars (so to speak) and were able to still retain some sort of income. And I saw some apply for a small business loan to help them stay afloat.

As for myself? I have been trying to stay busy and distracted and taking this one day at a time. Since both of my children’s schools closed, I have become a part time elementary school teacher. I have also learned that teachers are seriously under valued and unappreciated.

As far as my business? Well, thankfully my boss is pretty damn awesome. And my clients are super sweet and understanding. After all, their special day has also been derailed because of this pandemic as well. But we are all in this together and we will all get through this together.

So until I can get back to shooting weddings, I will distract myself with anything and everything else.

Usually I use my 105 for ring shots. It’s been a while since I’ve shot nature.

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www.mariasollecito.com