AUGUSTA, GA ( WJBF) – Running a small business during a pandemic can be tough.

Alea Garvin, owner of Whipped Creamery had to close her store in the mall because of covid, but last year things started to look up.

“Moving over here was the breakthrough that we needed to get back on track,” Garvin said.

She opened a new location in Grovetown and even during the pandemic business has been booming.

She said keeping a business during the pandemic means being able to make changes and keep up with the way covid is changing the market.

“We would love to see COVID go away and not every come back, but the reality is that it’s here. We can’t plan for it to go away. We need to plan to work with it,” Garvin said.

Other small business owners are finding different ways to adapt to covid.

“With barbershops and salons closing it gave me an idea of how to help them make money while they are able to provide the services they provide,” Jasmine Ryans said.

Jasmine Ryans, owner of SoulTre specializes in hair, skin and beard care products.

Through the pandemic she’s used her online platform to market and manufacture her products for other businesses.

“Being able to bring that awareness in a new and creative way,” Ryans said.

Next year her brand will expand globally.

“Next year I’ll be having some of our products in a boutique in Switzerland and in February we will be in Dubai. So just learning about the new areas our products will be in and just having the opportunity to have these products in these areas and just bring more awareness to small businesses around the world,” Ryans said.