Can a Pandemic Pivot Outlast The Pandemic?

Many entrepreneurs reinvented themselves this past year— and the franchise Safe From Spread is a perfect example of how a pivot can pay off. It moved fast, served a new need, and profited greatly. But with the pandemic’s end now in sight, brands like these are preparing for their biggest battle yet: survival in a post-pandemic world.

- By Clint Carter

Ryan Combe sat at his desk, staring through the window at a gloomy winter in Ogden, Utah. The year had started with such promise. After investing some $60,000 in business acquisition, his consulting company, Better Way Franchise Group, hit a hot streak with a slate of new clients and proposal requests. It was tracking toward its best year ever, a million dollars in revenue. Then the bottom fell out.

COVID-19 dashed hopes of profit for millions of entrepreneurs, and the consulting industry was hit particularly hard. Combe had to divert rent money to make payroll for his staff of three. He filed for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and applied for government relief through the Paycheck Protection Program. But the money didn’t show up as quickly as promised. With his next payday approaching, he had just $340 in his account.

“It got really dark for a minute,” says Combe. He thought about his wife and kids. He thought about his employees and their families. Then he thought about Ulysses S. Grant.

From the corner of Combe’s desk, the 18th president— or rather, a bobblehead likeness— stared up at him. He’d purchased the souvenir at Grant’s Tomb in New York as a reminder that down and out are two different afflictions. Before his face was on the $50 bill, Grant failed as a farmer and debt collector. When the Civil War began, he was laboring at the family leather shop. He was down, but he damn sure wasn’t out. “The guy went from working for his little brother for an hourly wage to being president of the United States,” says Combe. “It may be the most meteoric rise in the history of the United States.”