News — Pandemic

At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, many people became jobless, especially during the lockdown phase in March when certain businesses had to lay off workers. Twin sisters RaeShawn Middleton and LaShone Middleton are trained chefs from Laurel, Maryland, who lost their respective jobs at a restaurant. Little did they know that one afternoon’s crab cravings would help them launch the only crab delivery service in their vicinity.

Usually, the trick to a successful business is to fill a market gap. In the case of the Middleton sisters, there were no eateries offering crab delivery services in their community so, with their experience as chefs, they jumped at the idea to start their own crab delivery service, R&L Crab Company.

The twins were at brunch one day when they craved steamed crabs cooked to perfection and at the same time, they did not feel like moving out to go and grab any. That was when the idea struck them. Maybe they did not need to drive out to get them, and many people might be feeling the same way and yet would want to savor the crabs from the comfort of their homes.

Being trained chefs who grew up on crabs came as an added advantage when the twins decided to make a business out of it, WJLA reported.

To mitigate the spread of the virus, restaurants were shut down and only takeout shops could operate with little staff. The Middleton twins decided to cook from their kitchen and deliver the crabs themselves.

They began doing the groundwork to launch their business. According to LaShone, they needed to make sure they had items that they would need, including delivery bags. Then it was about letting people know the services they intend providing by creating an Instagram account and designing flyers to be put up in their neighborhood.

The fear of the unknown always makes people fret about a lot of things and LaShone was sure scared of people’s reaction to their new venture.

“I was, like, shaking. I was, like, so nervous ’cause I was like, this is ridiculous. Like, how am I going to – I’m not going to start a business.”

“We went home that day and started making flyers,” La said. “We were shocked to get our very first order that day.”

All the while, the pair forgot one of the most essential things in being an entrepreneur — the pricing of the crabs. It came to their attention the moment an order came while they were sharing fliers. The steamed crabs were priced at $75 for the big ones. The average price on the market is $99 but being new, they needed to win over their customer base, plus their pricing comes with the delivery which makes their services stand out.

“We deliver everything ourselves, we cook everything ourselves, and when we have 20 orders, we split it amongst the two of us.”

The Middletons schedule deliveries from Thursdays to Sundays and they get about 10 orders per week with some ordering about 60 extra-large crabs in one order. With crab season coming up in March, the twins are poised for the orders that might come their way.

RaeShawn and LaShone are looking to expand their venture by saving up to purchase a food truck and sign on to already existing delivery services like Postmates to cater for big orders.

At the moment, all the crabs are made to order and none of them is reheated. The twins are also exploring the concept of “ghost kitchen” where they use the kitchens of restaurants around town to cook the crabs before deliveries.

With no prior knowledge on how to run a business, the pair are grateful the pandemic gave them the push to be business owners and now they want to share their failures and successes on this new journey to inspire others by writing a book.

“We made a lot of mistakes and are still learning as we go but I can say I know how to start a business and it may not be a traditional way, but I don’t think there’s a traditional way to do anything.”

Admittedly, it is terrifying to start a business in the midst of the pandemic but per NPR, the U.S. Census Bureau says Americans are launching start-ups at the fastest rate in more than a decade.

Philip Udeh was born with sickle cell disease. Due to his condition, Udeh endured a painful crisis during his childhood. While in college, he suffered a life-threatening kidney failure but luck was on his side as he made a full recovery.

Having gone through this tumultuous experience through childhood to adulthood, Udeh set out to find solutions for his condition. He started researching into ways he can improve his health condition and implemented a plant-based diet, nutritional herbs, and physical activities including yoga and tai chi, according to Forbes.

His breakthrough came when he made smoothies using natural ingredients such as Ginseng, Ashwagandha (also known as Indian ginseng), and Spirulina. He gave what he had made to a few friends to try. Based on their feedback, Udeh realized his mixture had a positive influence on their health.

That was how Udeh founded Füd Vitamin Energy to help people born with sickle cell anemia get on with their lives. He then took steps to formalize his product to ensure that the formula for his product was right and meet all the legal requirements. He established contact with a food technologist and they worked together on creating a product that could be brought to market.

He also solicited the assistance of some freelancers to help in the branding of the product. “Whilst things were moving along I realized to make it work and take it to the next level it needed an injection of capital and to go full time,” Udeh told Forbes.

To get funding to scale up the production of his business, he applied for an accelerator program but his application was dismissed. Many entrepreneurs would have given up at this stage but Udeh persisted and through networking, he met an angel investor.

After receiving funding in 2018, he started producing Füd drinks in scalable quantities for sale in corporate markets and college campuses. He later secured a distribution deal with national retailer Sainsbury in May 2019.

He subsequently received an offer from entrepreneur Peter Jones at Great Britain‘s version of Shark Tank but he declined the offer. Udeh chose the route of using crowdfunding to raise funds from his loyal customers. He was successful with the crowdfunding and channeled the funds into a reformulation and sleek rebrand.

The rebranding has helped the Füd Vitamin Energy drive up sales despite COVID-19 driving down sales of businesses and resulting in the collapse of Black-owned businesses.

Meanwhile, Udeh is starting another crowdfunding this month so as to allow more of his customers increase their stake in the company.

The coronavirus pandemic, besides being a public health threat, has also negatively affected the global economy as it has reduced trade and mobility. At the micro-level, COVID-19 shutdowns have affected small business owners, particularly Black businesses.

According to research by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, 41 percent of Black-owned businesses have been shuttered by COVID-19, compared to just 17 percent of white-owned businesses.

“Nationally representative data on small businesses indicate that the number of active business owners fell by 22% from February to April 2020—the largest drop on record,” the report said. “Black businesses experienced the most acute decline, with a 41% drop. Latinx business owners fell by 32% and Asian business owners dropped by 26%. In contrast, the number of white business owners fell by 17 percent,” the report said.

The American government implemented a number of initiatives to support struggling businesses such as the Paycheck Protection Program. The federal government signature program for small businesses, however, left a significant gap. Coverage was only 20 percent for communities with a high Black population and less than 20 percent for communities with low population densities. 

“Weaker cash positions, weaker bank relationships, and preexisting funding gaps left Black firms with little cushion entering the crisis: even the healthiest Black firms were financially disadvantaged at the onset of COVID-19,” the report noted.

While many small Black businesses were going through a tumultuous phase, the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce led by Harrison L. Blair stepped up to address the disparity. Blair was appointed into the position a little over a year ago.

The chamber, which is the oldest in America, has helped advocate for Black-owned businesses in the North Texas area, and Blair knows he had to do more to save more Black businesses from further collapse.

Since the pandemic, Blair and the chamber have assisted over 300 businesses to gain access to over $5 million in funding to help these companies bounce back, according to dmagazine.

He also ensured the implementation of the chamber’s annual programs that honor Black-owned businesses like Quest for Success, a platform designed to promote Black businesses and nonprofits in the North Texas region.

Blair said he is honored to be named one of D CEO’s Dallas 500 2021, especially after only being in this role for a little over a year. “It really is a testament to the support I have received from the community in being able to service this role”, said Blair.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many problems and longstanding issues around the country. One of those problems is access to healthy food. According to the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, there is only one supermarket within a two-mile radius for 1,700 families living in low-income neighborhoods. As a solution, one mother-daughter duo took initiative and created a grocery store to serve the community.

Renee Trueheart and her daughter, Tyra Gallagher, decided to help out their community in Henrico County in Richmond, Virginia, by opening the Darrell’s Family Supermarket earlier this month. After other food options for locals closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gallagher, who works with patients on dialysis, has received much praise around how this kind of store is needed in the community.

“A lot of my patients struggle with being able to get the proper food they need,” said Gallagher in an interview with WRIC. “We’ve seen the disparities that Black and brown people face looking for clean, safe, and fresh produce in this area. That’s why we’re here.”

Gallagher says she is grateful for the community support she and her mother received throughout the difficulties of opening a business during a pandemic.

“We are shocked at all of the positive feedback we have received, praising us for what we are doing,” she said of the neighborhood response to VPM News. “We’ve even had people say they will drive all the way from Northern Virginia just to support.”

During the general lockdown in the United States due to COVID-19, Beyonce’s philanthropic organization BeyGood partnered with the NAACP to offer $10,000 grants to Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

After receiving nearly 17,000 applications, natural health and wellness company, The Gift, has received the grant from BeyGood and NAACP.
In a statement, The Maryland based company that also specializes in cannabis products and was founded in 2018 expressed appreciation for being selected for the cash grant.

“We are so humbled and grateful to be selected out of 17,000 applicants for a grant from the Queen Bee herself, Beyoncé and BeyGOOD in partnership with the NAAC,” the company posted on Instagram.

It said the grant will be used to launch a new website and an education platform to deal with the stigma and damage drugs have caused in Black communities.

“The grant is helping us re-launch our new sustainable packaging, launch a new website, and our education platform Project 545. We hope that our work will not only bring relief to millions of people but also break down the stigma and the damage that was done to black and brown communities from the ‘War on Drugs.’”

Meanwhile, The Gift Co-founder and CEO, Cory Moore, in a statement highlighted the challenges Black firms face in the legal cannabis industry due to nascent regulation around it, especially financing.

“Companies in the legal cannabis industry face higher costs for just about everything from insurance to banking, even if they are working strictly with hemp, not marijuana,” Cory Moore, told to Black Enterprise.

“Banks are reluctant to lend to us because the regulations around hemp are new and still developing in some respects. Black‐owned businesses are challenged even further when it comes to financing. This grant from NAACP and Beyoncé has made us feel seen, and we are grateful to them for the opportunities we will create with these funds,” he added.

In September, Beyonce donated an additional $1 million to the BeyGOOD and NAACP’s fund to help disburse more funds to support Black-owned business struggling due to the pandemic.