STEPPING up

Energized by optimism, generosity and determination, Elle AyoubZadeh, CEO of the high-end accessory line Zvelle, rose to the challenge of being a small-business owner during COVID-19.

- INGRIE WILLIAMS

FROM PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS TO PROfessional demands, the global pandemic has turned every aspect of life upside down. For small-business owner Elle AyoubZadeh, making it through the challenging days meant looking up, not giving up.

Since launching Zvelle online in 2015, AyoubZadeh’s high-end leather goods label of classically beautiful shoes and handbags has occupied several pop-up locations in her home base of Toronto. Along with a season of fresh spring styles about to debut, she was starting an exciting new chapter (a permanent retail/office/ event space in the heart of the city) when the world began to shut down.

“My job is to be the mother of everybody, and there are a lot of people counting on me and the company,” says AyoubZadeh, who oversees a small number of internal staff and works closely with Italian manufactures on her independent line. “Everybody is looking to me for direction. I’m the CEO, and I don’t have the luxury to be negative.”

With a commitment to her team and a desire to keep her business moving forward, AyoubZadeh moved into strategy mode. “The first thing I did was make sure that we were in a position to keep our production order,” she says, “but I also looked at what we know are classics that we can always sell.”

While other brands dialed back, AyoubZadeh sought out opportunities for growth and support. “We work with small- to medium-sized factories that have a maximum of 50 employees, and they rely on us, our orders and everything we do to feed their people,” she says. “I asked myself, ‘Are we in a position to increase some of the production on those styles so that we can help?’”

AS THE WORLD TURNS