BRAZOS VALLEY, TX — Many small businesses had to adapt when the pandemic hit, but when it comes to major holidays and celebrations, they're grateful for the new business that came along with it.
It was a busy start to her morning for small business owner Tricia Barksdale. Tricia Barksdale Designs is catering to many families this Mother's Day, so she was up early, working on putting together beautiful arrangements for all those last-minute Mother’s Day orders.
Barksdale has been serving the Brazos Valley for over 30 years with her floral designs, but when the pandemic hit it impacted her business.
“We were deemed essential, I kept my business going. I could not keep all my employees, so I went from a payroll of eight to myself,” said Tricia Barksdale, Owner of Tricia Barksdale Designs.
Barksdale worked hard to keep her storefront open, but it became too difficult all on her own. She closed the store and moved her work into her home a year ago this week.
Jim Pillans with the Brazos Valley Small Business Development Center says a storefront has many obligations.
”If you’re a storefront owner, you have insurance that you’re going to have, you’ve got deposits, you’ve got utilities you have to pay," said Jim Pillans, the Director of Brazos Valley Small Business Development Center. "If you’re going to have to keep the store open, you're gonna have employee’s that are going to be there too,”
Pillans says, many small businesses were unable to sustain the same amount of customer volume without them coming inside the store. Some businesses were able to take advantage of technology to sustain their customers, but others weren't so lucky. This hurt them when it came to the costs they still needed to cover.
Tricia is thankful to have many customers that still choose her arrangements for one of the busiest celebrations of the year.
”In the floral industry, we’ve got the Superbowl which is valentine's day and I guess you would call mother's day, May madness, I don’t know, it’s our second busiest opportunity to share our flowers with people,” Barksdale shared. “I am just very thankful and it’s because those customers have become friends,”
As of this morning, Tricia says orders are closed.
This year the floral industry has seen a shortage of flowers. Tricia recommends on busy celebrations and holidays like this weekend, to get your order in as early as possible for your schedule.
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