From Live Theater to Virtual Theater
For JordanSpoon, co-founder of New York City theatrical company Purple Crayon Immersive, the pandemic immediately put a stop to the in-person shows she produced and acted in. “We were completely at a standstill,” says Spoon, 35. “There was nothing for us to work on.” The solution: virtual immersive experiences via Zoom like “Tough Luck,” a corporate team-building and staff-appreciation experience. Clients log on to meet an actor playing a detective who needs help solving a mystery; teams solve puzzles, break codes and visit obscure corners of the internet trying to recover what was taken. The virtual events have given the theater company access to a much broader audience, and clients include companies across the U.S. “I don’t think we ever would have offered virtual experiences because it was outside our comfort zone. But the pandemic forced us to figure it out, and we were really surprised by how fun and easy it was and how much people liked it. We’ve probably permanently shifted to a company that does both in-person and virtual events.”
From Marathons to the ER
An early pandemic casualty: Running in races with huge crowds of panting people. Race cancellations were a big setback for entrepreneur KatSamardzija, whose company Locker Lifestyle makes wristbands and headbands for runners with pockets for stashing keys, IDs or credit cards. “I was sitting on so much extra inventory, I didn’t know what to do,” Samardzija says. One day, she saw a video of a nurse who sewed a button on either side of a headband where she could hook the straps of her face mask to relieve pressure on the ears. But the nurse’s cotton headband kept slipping down. “I realized our marathon headbands are made for hours of sweating and running, and nursing is no desk job,” Samardzija says. She whipped up a sample of a button headband, posted a video and watched it go viral. “We sold out of the inventory as fast as we could make it.” Now teachers, hairstylists, travelers and more are buying the headbands. “I couldn’t figure out how to move headbands when marathons were canceled, and we ended up helping many more people. It’s crazy.”
From Events and Marketplaces to Instagram
SaVonneAnderson, 26, quit her day job in February 2020 to focus full-time on Aya Paper Co., the small eco-friendly greeting card and stationery business she created. Some 75 percent of her revenue came from in-person events and marketplaces, which came to a grinding halt a month later. “I’m not sure why, but I didn’t panic,” Anderson says. “I think because I was only a month in to doing it full-time it still felt new and exciting.” She quickly realized that homebound Americans were longing to connect with more than a quick text or email—and Aya’s 100 percent recycled cards for ordinary occasions fit the bill. Cards with messages like “I miss you so much I wrote a letter about it” were pandemic-perfect. Anderson built out her website, added organic online outreach and launched new products live on Instagram. The result: The company’s 2,000 percent revenue growth from 2019 to 2020. “So much of what I’ve learned is staying consistent and not being afraid to try something new,” she says. Anderson sees a mix of events and e-commerce as the company’s future. “I’m glad I had this experience at the start of my business, because now I’m ready for whatever challenges come.”
From Medical Office to Home Office
Before the pandemic, Betty Gingold Acker, a Eugene, Oregon–based OB-GYN with 30 years of experience, worked in a medical clinic. Now, she works full-time for an online medical platform from home. “I never in a million years thought there was any possibility of not working 100 percent in a room with a patient,” she says. She pores over in-depth patient surveys, talking to patients and prescribing safe birth control online. She loves the reach of her new job—that what she does makes it possible for people in rural places or areas without access to health care to talk to a doctor and get the appropriate prescription. “The pandemic taught us that a lot of things don’t need to be done in-person,” Acker says. “I do sometimes miss the in-person contact and the camaraderie of working with nurses and other providers, but there’s a lot I don’t miss. I’m going to keep doing this forever.”
From Corporate Marketing to Gardening
AugustLaska, 26, enjoyed his job in corporate America for a large entertainment company—until he was furloughed without a return date. “They said, ‘We’ll call you when we need you; you can collect unemployment until then.’” Laska moved out of his New York City apartment and into his parents’ house in Westport, Connecticut, where he found himself stuck at home. He coped “by going out into the garden. It was always a hobby, but during the pandemic I started working outside all day, every day because that’s all there was to do.” He was working in a friend’s garden when a neighbor asked for help—and “it took off from there.” Now his LLC, the Old Yew, is thriving, and he expects his earnings to match his previous corporate salary, “if not exceed it.” When the entertainment company called asking him to return this past April, he said no, thanks. “It was such a pivot, and it’s here to stay,” he says. “There’s nothing like working for yourself. I don’t know how I could ever go back to sitting at a desk eight hours a day.”
From Art Galleries to Online Marketplaces
Artist TheresaWellsStifel, 60, built up a solid career through years of selling her art in galleries, at art shows and in open studios. “I’d meet my clients in person to do commission work—the best way to establish and maintain rapport—and suddenly that all went away.” A local gallery canceled her scheduled solo show in July 2020, and Stifel found herself with artwork and nowhere to sell it. She built a website from scratch and rethought her social media presence. “One of the things I learned during the pandemic was that with everyone at home, people enjoyed getting peeks into each other’s lives.” She began to post “process” photos showing her artwork from early stages to completion, and up-close photos of small details in her artwork. When followers fell in love with a piece already promised to someone else, she offered to paint something similar on commission. “I actually created a market for more commissions.” Because she couldn’t visit clients in person to see where they wanted their artwork hung, she began doing two paintings for a commission and let the client pick one. The surprise? “Sixty to seventy percent of the time, the client takes both. It’s created this nice stream of work.”
How to make a career change
According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, occupation transitions in the U.S. will grow by 28 percent post-pandemic—meaning some 17 million workers will decide to pivot! Here’s what to do: Take a step back: Many people fall into a career that inadvertently becomes a life trajectory. “That trajectory sends them to the next job in the same sector and the next job,” says Joseph A. Michelli, author of Stronger Through Adversity. “It’s not necessarily what they wanted for their lives. The pandemic has provided an opportunity for reflection. Do you see yourself in your current job for the next ten years? Why or why not?” Learn new skills: August Laska took classes at the New York Botanical Garden and connected with other landscape designers to bring himself up to speed in his new business. “It was a major, major learning curve,” he says, but the preparation and research have paid off. “I can answer almost every question I get asked, even though I’ve been doing this only for 12 months.” Go slow: “A career change takes six months to a year,” says DonnaSweidan, a career and life design coach who’s seen a 10–20 percent increase in her business since the pandemic began. You need “time and commitment and gradual engagement with the process” of making a change, whether it’s taking online classes, networking or volunteering. Next, What People Earn 2020: How Much are the Biggest Celebrities and Influencers Really Making?
