What are you or other business owners in your community doing to adapt, innovate, and recover from the effects of the pandemic?

Because of Covid, people are thinking more about health and wellness and a possible second stream of income.  Therefore, with our patented liposomal CBD with no THC and CORE nutritional supplements (along with 13 others wellness products) these products have been an asset to many. So the knowledge of these amazing products has increased. 

In publishing of books, the pandemic takes away the interaction of authors from the public, such as bookstores.  I have taken the author, Michael J. Alsup to the bookstores and introduced him to staff and management to give him some support and feel like he's a part of the book world.  When his books reach the shelves, he is there to see his book and feel like an author.  I do a video live event on facebook where he can have some interaction and we had a good turnout of 91 people, although there were problems with audio, but we're getting that resolved.  There is a lot of social media and advertising online.

We provide a service so talking to the consumer with focus of what is important to them is key. Example: MasterCare features and benefits have been prioritized towards "Wellness" cleaning. CDC compliant, masks,gloves and booties as the current uniform and  medical grade disinfectants used in the home have been are mantra to belay the concerns of the client. The point is to focus your communication on your consumers pov needs that will provide an authentic approach as to why your service/product is relevant to them. Keep your messaging simple,focused and relevant will assist in differentiating you in a world of faux. 

At Pollyandco.com  we had to hit the salon running: all sanitization is in place and working well for the safety of my self and clients: Sola Studios is doing a great job for us! Thanks Sola Salons! 

We have adjusted our hours due to clients schedules, and seeing only one client @ time has been our biggest issues.   We have adjusted our prices slightly to accommodate and service our clients and maintain a living.

We are continuing seeing slight decline in how often the client returns and we are creating additional services to fill those voids:  Example: CURBSIDE SERVICES:  MOBILE SERVICES:  RETAIL INSENSITIVES:  PRE BOOKING: ADDING ADDITONAL  SERVICES and HOURS TO MEET THE CLIENT NEEDS: 

We are Still "Hopeful" and Thankful and supporting our local Restaurants and  other business! Great time to Bind Together!   Love. Polly

The pandemic continues, although a lot of people seem to think it is over and no longer a threat. I attended an HOA meeting last night in which only one of the board members wore a mask and even it was a flimsy bandana that would be more effective while robbing a bank than in dealing with a deadly virus that has already killed nearly 200,000 Americans. That said, my response to the pandemic was to adapt but to also charge it head-on. I adapted because I moved from being "just" a screenwriter to becoming a film producer, forming not one but two film production companies. In the weeks and months since I took that decision and brought two teams together to partner with me on producing two scripts of mine, we have created full packages, including trailers, executive summaries, budgets, look books/pitch decks, and scripts. We have begun sending the packages out to interested producers and are already receiving an extremely positive response from producers wanting to partner with us and help bring funding to the projects. So I adapted and charged forward with renewed vigor ALTHOUGH... although I have to admit that the stress of the pandemic is still there, still wearing me down so that I have to force myself to keep charging into its teeth, refusing to let it defeat me.  And of course, as I mentioned at the top of this post, a large part of the stress involves other people's response to the pandemic, from arrogance to ignorance to outright hatred and politicization of one of the deadliest pandemics in the past century. And it saddens me and angers me, but... I will do with it what I do with all experiences in my life; I will use it to fuel my creativity. I will write about it, contribute positively to the conversation, and try to make a positive difference to the world. I invite you to join me, not in hatred or ignorance, but in loving activism.

Virtual meetings, virtual training, offering customers masks, gloves & booties at showings. St the beginning we shut down the offices and now we allow customers to come in with masks. We are doing virtual Open Houses and Facebook live events so people can still interact with an agent from their home and view a property. Times they are a changing!

It has diffidently been a challenge during these difficult times. Many people are not traveling at the moment and all events have been cancelled due to this Pandemic which hurt us tremendously. But we've manage to keep the hotel open. Normally we count on the travelers that are traveling State to State since it slowed down I've been targeting crew workers, truckers and Medical/Hospital clientele that are working in the Florence area.  I've come up with different marketing ideas and advertisements to bring these guests into our hotel because without our guests we do not have a hotel to run. And I'm happy to say we are staying afloat and doing well. Here at Howard Johnson you can count on us to put safety first for all our guests and employees. We are taking all safety precautions to ensure a safe and healthy stay. We are all in this together and we will get through it together. 

Stay Safe Everyone!!

Just as Covid has revealed our weaknesses on a national and international level, it has also challenged me personally.  I am honing my technological skills with more internet- friendly access to a website that I am overhauling and updating.  Shipping art out more efficiently via the internet and also searching for efficient use of Zoom for teaching.  In the past, I taught at art centers and also classes in drawing, painting, and printmaking in my well equipped studio. But now, I am addressing the learning curve for operating zoom for  teaching. Subjects like teaching drawing, can be most challenging requiring a different adjustment and I now limit visits to my studio to see my work.  

We are  recommending the best films that are now being streamed. For many out there streaming films at home represents a major entertainment. Each film recommendation includes a synopsis, running time, language it's in, ratings, and film critics reviews.

Business as usual:-)