Member-only story
Turning the “Pandemic Problem” into Opportunity
Starting a mini-business
In the year 2020, I was bored, retired, and suddenly living alone again. Lockdown meant we weren’t supposed to go places or see our friends. Help!
One day on Facebook I saw someone advertising some cool embroidered face masks that caught my eye. Besides a lemonade stand as a kid, I’d never wanted to be a salesperson, not falling for my husband’s invitations to get involved in his distribution of nutritional supplements. But I fell in love with those masks and with the idea of helping a rural community survive once COVID had certainly made sales of their traditional clothing items fall to zilch.
I decided to contact the woman and buy a dozen or two. After sharing pics with friends and contacts, a number were interested. I ordered some more; the woman would bring them to my house, and the variety I purchased also grew. Butterflies, Frida Kahlos, jaguars, sunflowers, Aztec bunnies, and flowers galore. Bright on bright, silver on black, and so on.
A few asked for orders from other Mexican states, and I learned that the cost was minimal for regular mail. I branched out and got masks…
