How you can help save small businesses during coronavirus shutdowns


(Arielle Chen | Daily Trojan)

Due to the coronavirus, small businesses across the United States have been forced to shut down and now face weeks of lost income. Many businesses are already feeling the financial strain of the shutdown, as restaurants, trade workers and creative professionals struggle to bring in customers and work. Here are some ways to ease this burden and support small businesses so they can pay their employees, make their rent and ensure that they can reopen once the pandemic subsides. 

Things to buy

Take out and delivery

Ordering delivery or curbside pickup is an easy way to help fund these restaurants while still receiving a professionally cooked meal. Local, family-owned eateries provide a variety of specialty cuisines you may not be able to make at home, which can bring a welcomed variety into your quarantine diet because, let’s face it, you can’t keep living off Top Ramen forever. 

Meal kits

Some restaurants offer meal kits you can buy at the restaurant or have delivered to cook at home. The ingredients are pre-measured and pre-chopped, and the kits include detailed instructions so you can recreate your favorite meals at home. If you are celebrating a special occasion or want some fine dining in your own home, Crossroads Kitchen on Melrose Avenue in L.A. offers take home kits of their high-end vegan cuisine perfect for a fun and healthy dinner. 

Arts and crafts

Find a new creative hobby by ordering paints, embroidery kits and more from craft and toy stores. Hobby shops may offer curbside pickup or expedited delivery, and you may discover a new interest (or a way to banish boredom). Independent art store Blue Rooster Art Supplies on Hollywood Boulevard in L.A. offers free shipping on orders over $25. If you want a product not listed on their website, they accept product inquiries over email or Instagram DMs and will create a custom order for you.

Take advantage of alternative services

Invest in close businesses

Since almost all storefronts are closed, buy gift cards for services to redeem once places open up again. Most hair salons, clothing boutiques, spas and movie theaters offer gift vouchers. Local, independent Alamo Drafthouse theater, which screens new and classic movies, is selling gift cards (and accepting donations) online as a source of income while closed. If you do this, businesses will receive money when they need it most and you’ll have something fun to look forward to post-quarantine. 

Use services adapted for online

See what professional services have moved online. Yoga studios, therapists, music lessons and art classes are just some of the services now available over Zoom or similar video services. TakeLessons.com connects you with live, online instructors to help you learn anything ranging from languages to musical instruments, computer skills to ballet. You can support instructors teaching what they love and come out of quarantine with an impressive new skill. 

Donate rather than accept a refund

If you have tickets to local theater productions or art shows, consider forgoing a refund. Instead, donate that money to the organization. While most venues are offering full refunds for canceled events, donating the money already spent on a ticket ensures that cultural centers will be able to reopen. Upon the decision to close the venue and cancel the popular show “Man of God,” the Geffen Playhouse emailed ticket holders with the offer for a full refund or an option to donate the price of their ticket to the playhouse.

Actions to take

Advocate on social media

For those active on social media, share the information of your selected small businesses on your feed. Reposting takeout menus, announcements about online sales and brands’ pleas for help is a quick and free way to promote small businesses; the exposure could be what helps them stay afloat. Local L.A. boutique Prelude & Dawn posted last week about its financial struggles following legal disputes with a prior landlord. The boutique shared a message on Instagram about the artisans that rely on regular orders, and through reposts of this statement, it received enough orders to pay employees while closed, according to a recent post on the boutique’s Instagram account.

Help non-tech savvy businesses

Offer your social media skills or graphic design expertise for free. Small businesses owned by older people, who are less tech savvy, may suffer losses because of the lack of a strong social media presence. Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism students with a mastery of the Adobe Creative Suite and Viterbi School of Engineering students good at coding can help businesses build websites that make the ordering process easier. Marshall School of Business students can put their marketing skills to the test and help create a plan for more social media exposure. Donating your time and knowledge may be what helps finance their business.