My Back To Business Strategy

By Emelie Hryhoruk, contemporary wellbeing artist of Emelie Art LTD, based in Wiltshire. Creating empowering street-art inspired portraiture to encourage an open dialogue about mental health and wellbeing, and its link with creativity and the arts.

Summarise how Covid-19 has affected your business? 

Initially, it was catastrophic.  

Events were cancelled one after another. All of a sudden, globally, collectors and potential clients were out of work, furloughed, worried.

I found myself between studios, juggling two primary school children and an unprecedented feeling of anxiety.

Sales fell, income dropped, time became something of a new and frightening expanse; I seemed to have so much of it, yet it couldn’t be utilised in the normal way - nothing was open, working to capacity, offering services or the usual level of accessibility.

The business I had been building for most of my life had, all of a sudden, simply ‘stopped’. 

What has been your plan to continue?  

Adaptation. Not solely with my business but with my wellbeing and mindset.

My business plan is evolving at a rate I’ve never experienced, because I’m fully aware my business will never be the same as before.

I am embracing new ways of reaching people, and in doing so reaching a more wide-spread audience, which in my line of business can only be a wonderful thing.

My studying into psychology and mental illness has increased in a bid to absorb more knowledge in my area of expertise whist strengthening the depth of my work. 

The number of resources at our fingertips has expanded and diversified ten-fold, and this is the time to take notice and utilise these offerings.

How has business changed for you over the last few months? 

Fast-forward two months, and Covid-19 has affected my business in a way I never could have imagined.

My anxiety and isolation led me to create a piece of art that has since been widely recognised as a piece marking this moment in history.

The 4’ painting sold through Saatchi Art Gallery online, and is encouraging people both here in the UK and around the world to open up and talk about how they’re feeling in isolation.

It has been picked up by BBC News England, the London Evening Standard and was signed on the BBC News Points West.

Supporting mental health charities with my work has always been the core of my business, due to the work initially coming about off the back of my 3 year battle with postnatal depression.

This painting is enabling me to promote the close correlation between creativity and our mental health and wellbeing, whilst supporting the charities more during this time of overwhelming need for their services.

Business has changed for me in a way that only a global pandemic could encourage! It truly did feel like it was ‘make or break’ for a while there.

As lockdown eases what measures have you put in place to get back to business? 

Authenticity, transparency and the bigger picture, so to speak. 

I understand now just how much my work helps people every day with their mental health and wellbeing, and if that isn’t enough for me to take note and act upon with every ounce of my creative compassion, I’m not sure what is!

The charities I fundraise for and I have discussed as to how we can move forward in raising more awareness and funds together moving forward.

My clothing line is going from strength to strength and is in the process of being expanded and modified to adapt to the increasing growth of my business model.

What has been the most challenging aspect of all of this? 

The realisation that without embracing these changing times, my story would have been very different.

Change is hard to embrace at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic where fear is wide-spread and panic seems to fill our news feeds.

Mindset has been key for me to embrace and diversify these past months, and with a history of depression and anxiety, that’s been no easy feat.

What has been the most positive aspect? 

Learning how much I can adapt when I need to! 

Turning something frightening and life-changing into something beautiful, colourful and most importantly, helpful for my clients.

Has it made you consider how you feel about other businesses/suppliers/customers/clients? 

Absolutely yes! 

The businesses that have stood out for me are the ones who have been the front-runners; the businesses who, despite feeling they’d lost their customers, continued to be there for their communities and their followers. It’s that continued presence and adaptation of their business that will stay with me, and encourage me to use their products or services in the future.

With regards to businesses I have used as suppliers and partners, this has also evolved throughout this period of change. I have been forced to navigate my way in to finding alternative relationships due to having been let down by certain aspects of my supply chain, & for the most part these have been a welcome find with exciting prospects and a more local association!

How important is this phrase to you – ‘buy local, supply local’? 

This is the essence of 2020, and hopefully will be embraced moving forward.

If it wasn’t for my local supporters, I would have been really stuck in the first weeks of this pandemic.

I reached out, and my local community responded.

Equally, we began supporting local more than ever before, by using and helping to promote our local independents for both our business and personal product and service needs.

What are your top tips for other business owners at this time? 

1. ADAPT! Trust your instincts and know your business and the route/s it is taking, and why.

2. TALK! Promote yourself, your story and your products/services. Now more than ever people need to be reminded of how you can help them.

Your parting thought? 

To embrace a situation such as the one we have found ourselves in. Fully embrace the fear and not allow for it to overpower your business model. Let it feed the necessary changes in order to stride forward with new ideas and business knowledge. That's powerful!

Embrace change. Adapt, learn and strive for more. And, most importantly, be kind to yourself , your business, your customers and your suppliers. It’s one long line of survival of the fittest.

For more information visit www.emelieart.com