How face masks saved my business during COVID

Well, COVID hit, and it was a difficult time for businesses as well as for people in general. Virivee mainly sells tights for events, cosplay and Halloween, so when the lockdowns started, our sales dropped to zero. But the expenses didn’t go away. I still had to pay the workshop rent, employee costs and all the other expenses that come with running a business.

I was desperately watching how things were developing, trying to figure out how to keep the business going. Then, quite unexpectedly, an opportunity came along that changed everything.

An acquaintance of mine, who sold textiles through a traditional brick-and-mortar shop, got in touch with me. They suggested working together to sell fabric face masks online, as this could help both businesses survive the crisis.
The idea was simple: they had the production capacity, while I had the experience of selling products online and shipping them. They took care of designing the masks, I selected the fabrics, did the marketing and I handled the online sales.

Once we started selling, I quickly realised there was a huge unmet demand for fabric face masks that people could comfortably wear with glasses without fogging. So a few weeks later we started focusing on those too.

Another thing that worked in our favour was our relatively inexpensive shipping agreement with FedEx. It allowed us to deliver orders almost anywhere in the world within 1–3 days, just as we had been doing with Virivee tights. This meant we could reach customers internationally and get the masks to them quickly.

This sudden change of direction didn’t just help one business, it saved both of them. Within a few months, we had managed to generate enough revenue to cover the costs of running the businesses for the whole year. This is important, because I know that demand for face masks will eventually slow down. But we built up a financial reserve that would help us keep operating even after the mask business start to fade.

It was a strange and incredibly stressful time, but I’m grateful that this unexpected opportunity came along when we needed it most. Sometimes, the thing that saves your business is something you would never have planned for.

It’s been a strange and incredibly stressful time, but I’m really grateful that this unexpected opportunity came along when we needed it most.