Student Entrepreneurs: Starting a Student Business during COVID-19

Chapman student Kendall Kearnan founded Lavender Moon Crafted in 2020. Her boredom blossomed into a small business that continues to grow post-COVID-19 quarantine.

During their time spent in isolation and loss of income from the pandemic, many college students found new ways to make money from home. Some, including Kendall Kearnan, started their own business as a way to keep busy while making money.

According to the International Labor Organization, 255 million full-time jobs or 8.8% of global work time were lost in 2020 due to the economic shutdown of COVID-19. Young people aged 15-24 were among the most impacted, with an unemployment rate of 8.7%.

Despite these harsh numbers, there are always positives.

Lavender Moon Crafted's Journey

Kearnan displays her exclusive resin art earrings on Etsy and Instagram.

Kendall Kearnan is a student at Chapman University who started a small business selling resin jewelry. Kearnan thought of a way to share her creativeness and love for jewelry making while stuck in her home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kearnan started making jewelry at a young age and was inspired to start her own business, called Lavender Moon Crafts, after seeing the rise of small businesses on social media during COVID-19.

Kearnan puts together a pair of resin art earrings to ship to a customer.

“I think social media brought the most attention to Lavender Moon. Friends and family supported my business by buying my jewelry and sharing it with others. It really improved my mood since I was away from my family during the first few months of the pandemic.”

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The Rise of Small Businesses during COVID-19

According to the Census Bureau, nearly 5.4 million new businesses were created in the U.S. in 2021— surpassing the record of about 4.4 million in 2020.

With many students in the same position as Kearnan, many have used social media platforms to attract more consumers. Kearnan utilizes platforms such as Instagram and Etsy to promote her products.

While the concept of online retail has been around for years, the pandemic has sped up the prioritization of using these marketing techniques for online shoppers.

There are many benefits of using social media to promote a small business, including:

• Build brand awareness

• Connect with customers

• Target specific demographics

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Ways to Get Started: Small Business Ideas

With the pandemic still lingering after the reopening of communities, the prominence of online businesses marketing remains at large. The impact of COVID-19 was also an incredible learning experience for the business world — many businesses have gone virtual, giving owners more freedom with their business.

Are you interested in starting a small business? Here are some creative business ideas to take advantage of that came out of the pandemic.

Virtual resume editing

A resume is one of the most important documents needed to showcase a student's background. Virtual resume editing is a great way to help students brainstorm and draft a resume that will make them stand out from other candidates.

Virtual workout classes and personal training

Photography and videography services