Here’s how these small businesses pivoted to survive during the pandemic

Here’s how these small businesses pivoted to survive during the pandemic

When the Covid pandemic hit, small business owners across the country scrambled to stay afloat. Those who managed to stay open were the fortunate ones. As of May 5, the number of U.S. small businesses that are open decreased by 33.8% compared to January 2020, according to , a Harvard-based economic tracker. Here's how four businesses pivoted in order to survive during . Lovely Leaps When schools shut down in California's San Diego County last March, so did most of Lisa McCabe's business at her dance studio, . About 90% of her classes took place at area preschools. Then, the building where she conducted her in-studio classes also permanently shuttered. McCabe, 32, immediately started networking and landed a gig teaching mommy-and-me virtual classes. She also began hosting virtual free dance classes for kids 10 months to 3 years old every week. Yet she needed to make money. So in June, she started a paid class for the 6-to-10 age group. "Realizing early on what the customer wants with virtual [dance] really helped us excel," McCabe said. It also helped that she networked with local organizations, offered free classes and formed partnerships. "Our virtual classes took off like a rocket," McCabe