There are some small and independent Calgary businesses that succeeding despite the challenges presented by COVID-19.
Two local businesses were able to recognize an opportunity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Megan Huchkowsky opened Doodle Dogs in 2016, a pet store specializing in handmade Canadian products.
Huchkowsky added a second location in the Bridgeland neighbourhood in 2019, and she plans to open a third store in November.
When the pandemic struck, Huchkowsky used to the opportunity to find a niche that needed to be filled.
“Recently we did have to close our doors during the pandemic and it gave us a really good opportunity while we were doing next-day deliveries to discover where there were some key holes in our market that were missing some pet nutrition and pet product opportunities,” she said.
When Mike Kallal’s downtown oil and gas office was shutdown due to the novel coronavirus, he started an online business renting sports and home improvement equipment.
“I saw all these one-time, two-time-a-week items that we use and thought, ‘You know, people would probably rent those if we made it really easy for them to get those items, deliver them for free and pick them up when they were done with them,” Kallal said.
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said the ability by small businesses to adapt and reinvent is what economic recovery depends on.
The chamber added it is the responsibility of government to remove barriers to allow local businesses to succeed.