Small Business Saturday In Brooklyn: Here's Why It Matters

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — When the coronavirus crisis hit New York City, it quickly wiped out 80 percent of business for the security guard company Omowale St. Juste had built from scratch over the last decade.

But he quickly realized there was no time to fixate on that — there was a job to do.

The only contracts left for his company, SJ Solutions and Security Protection Services, were those with the Department of Homeless Services, who now needed double the help as they opened up massive hotels to keep homeless New Yorkers safe. Soon, isolation facilities set up for New Yorkers with coronavirus were added to the docket.

"If I appeared to be nervous or scared, the staff would not have the confidence to execute what they needed to execute," St. Juste said. "This had to be done. People needed help and we had to help them."

Over the next few months, St. Juste navigated constantly-changing protocols, national shortages on protective equipment and a dwindling number of employees willing to come to work as his business grew larger than it had been even before the pandemic.

Even without business from his usual retail stores, construction sites or events, SJ Solutions has grown from 66 employees to just under 200 in the last year.

"I focused on getting up every day and doing my part...and look at us now," St. Juste said.

SJ Solutions is far from the only New York City business that had to change everything when the coronavirus hit. In Brooklyn, the company is one of three local business success stories that the Brooklyn Business Center has chosen to highlight for Small Business Saturday this year.

Also on that list, is Bed-Stuy Acupuncture and Massage Therapy, which is moving to a new, bigger location after changing its business model to work with social distancing guidelines.

"The coronavirus completely upended out business. We had a total pause for three straight months, and then we had to reconfigure it all for safety," owner Kate Henderson told Patch. "It is a big pivot for us, and a major investment — it’s a risk — but it’s an opportunity to fix things that weren’t working well even before COVID, and try something new. We’re going for it."

The third business is IV Purpose team, who opened a sports restaurant and event space in the middle of the pandemic.

All three worked with the Business Center to help navigate the new business world, whether it be applying for an outdoor cafe license, planning a socially distanced grand opening, or getting coronavirus relief funding.

The companies will be featured in a video, set to release Saturday, that will encourage Brooklynites to support local businesses.

The support, owners said, is the only thing standing between success stories like theirs and local favorites not surviving the coronavirus crisis.

More than 2,800 businesses in New York City have already closed their doors during the coronavirus crisis, a number that could grow to one-third of all the city's 240,000 small businesses when the pandemic subsides, according to recent studies.

Neighbors play a big part in staving off that future, owners say.

"The alternative is to see empty storefronts, having to go further away from their neighborhoods to find those things and likely have them supplied by big box retailers or chains. I don’t think anyone wants that," Henderson said. "

You want to live in a neighborhood where you can take a slow walk on the weekends and go peek in the windows and talk to people. That’s only gonna happen if we engage with those business, frequent them and promote them with purpose."

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