Let’s Dress Up is a fairy tale themed play and birthday party space for kids located in Manhattan. By skill, luck and maybe a little magic, we survived Covid and actually just opened a second location last Spring. Through the roller coaster we learned a few valuable lessons we will take with us into the next pandemic.
1. Stay in your lane. A dramatic shift in business model as a reaction to a crisis is likely not the answer. Of course there are exceptions, but for most businesses, staying true to what made you successful in the first place is a better course of action. Try to be flexible and adapt, but keep the main thing the main thing. Our business is focused on the in store experience. During the pandemic when we were mandated to be closed, we pivoted to online events, but they just could not replicate the in store magic. And that’s okay.
2. Keep overhead small, growth slow and steady. Especially in a market like New York City, overheads can get high pretty quickly. Be mindful of necessary expenses, and having extra cash on hand. If you are growing, don’t get ahead of yourself. Do take calculated risks and have lofty goals, but don’t put yourself in a situation where everything has to go perfectly in order to succeed. We have a small retail location that we often wish was bigger, but I firmly believe the small footprint of rent and staffing is what allowed us to weather the storm. Now we are poised to not just survive, but thrive.
3. Create a local community. Make friends with other small businesses. It is extremely helpful to have people to collaborate, brianstorm and share information with. Take advantage of community resources like your Chamber of Commerce, Community Boards and other local organizations. Make social media work for you. Stay in touch with customers and join industry groups. During Covid, things like this allowed us to rent our space to a displaced small business, keep up with grant opportunities and share ideas with local business leaders.
As a women owned business centered around dress up and tea parties, we are very often underestimated. We firmly believe in sharing our experience and any information we can with the next generation of small business owners in hopes that it may be useful.
