Forced to adjust, businesswomen found new ways forward

During World War II the American people had to make sacrifices. They were subjected to food rationing, price controls, 35 mph speed limits, lights out restrictions. People were having to adjust their normal way of life.

Companies also adjusted. While sales were dropping for their main products, companies looked at how they could not only get behind the war effort, a popular cause, but also create greater profits and keep people working.

Lionel Trains made compasses for warships.

Mattatuck Manufacturing Group stopped making upholstery nails and began making rifle clips.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, three million cars were made during 1941. A total of 139 were made during the rest of the war. Automotive manufacturers instead were manufacturing airplanes and jeeps and more.

Does this sound familiar? People changing how they do things in support of a bigger mission and companies looking for new ways to keep their workforce employed and the economy moving forward.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, female entrepreneurs have used grit and creative innovation to bolster their companies.

They have created new products and income opportunities while making a positive difference in people's lives.

Companies that were doing one thing have innovated and moved in a totally new direction.

For my small company, InspiHER Tech, we were faced with a severe revenue downshift. We are a recruiting firm and a career and job search coaching company. Whenever there is economic uncertainty companies pull back on paying search firm fees and individuals spend less on coaching.

We needed to consider new ways to make money and keep our staff employed.

We chose to spend our newfound time launching a digital product that had been in the planning stages for a long time but only got our attention in bits and pieces.

We brought to life a digital course called Take Charge. It is a job search readiness product for jobseekers. It uses all our years of experience helping people successfully navigate the job search and put it into a downloadable, self-paced course. Everything all in one place.

With so many people losing their jobs it felt like a right use of our time and resources.

Similarly, Alicia Driskill had to make some hard decisions. As the CEO of EvolveHer she was faced with hard decisions. In 2019 Alicia had already been making plans to add custom digital experiences to their in-person events. They had a clear road map and were getting ready to go out and raise $1.5M in funding when the pandemic hit.

"We were at a standstill." Alicia said. "Do we simply wait for things to settle, do we just shut it down or do we go back to the drawing board and figure out a new way?"

After soul searching and reflection, Alicia knew they could figure things out. They created a test platform with products already on the market at a lower cost and now provide both free and paid memberships and offer virtual events supporting evolving leaders.

Lisa Carrel, CEO and co-founder of Proxfinity entered 2020 feeling really good about her business.

Proxfinity had just released a new version of its wearable smart badge and sales were climbing.

It had a purchase order with a large Taiwan manufacturer ready to ship a large number of units when COVID-19 hit.

Because the Proxfinity smart badges were used by companies at live events to improve social interaction, and live events were being canceled, Lisa was at a crossroads.

Do they put a pause on everything and ride it out or do they look at how their software and firmware could be used to help get people back to work again safely?

Proxfinity made changes to their software and hardware and shifted to contact tracing. Using the product, businesses can run reports, do analytics and figure out who someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 may have come in contact with for more than 15 minutes total in a 24-hour period.

A whole new line of business was born out of hard times. Thousands of badges are now being used and control of employee safety is back in the hands of the companies and not the virus.

While these have not been easy times for anyone, like during World War II, women entrepreneurs are finding new solutions with their current products and intellectual property to create job opportunities and revenue streams never before considered.

The positive COVID-19 Effect.

• Laurie Swanson is founder and CEO of InspiHER Tech.