The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down, with small businesses being hit especially hard. This is a pivotal time for SMBs and entrepreneurs, and the way they respond to the pressure will determine how their businesses run for years to come. Many took a difficult situation and turned it into an opportunity. In our Positive Pivots series, we’re diving deeper into what these innovative businesses and individuals have done, and what lies beneath the surface to produce this kind of creativity and resilience.

This week we spoke with Chris Zurcher to discuss how he pivoted successfully to online retail during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tell us about yourself. Who is Chris Zurcher?

I'm somebody who can be sold the dream. When I saw a YouTube course where a guy promised to make me a millionaire, I dove head first into the learning process. I have a business degree, but up until this point I did wedding photography, acting, and all the side hustles you can imagine. This video course on YouTube really got me thinking about using my business skills and motivated me to look at additional revenue paths I could explore.

How did COVID-19 impact your operations?

Once COVID-19 hit, weddings stopped and acting became tougher so those side hustles pretty much vanished, leaving me to search for something else to do. The good thing was I had already taken the YouTube course on Amazon selling and spent about a year researching products and keywords and learning the ins and outs of Amazon.

How did you respond to those changes?

I was sitting at home, like almost everyone else, so I decided to launch my first product on Amazon that I sourced from a manufacturer on Alibaba.com. It was a bohemian wall shelf. My first product launch went really well. I learned that I didn’t really need to find the right product, but instead I needed to find the right keywords. Since I was able to figure that out early on, I discovered a category a lot of people were searching for and I was the second one to market. My first order of 500 units sold out within a month and my second reorder sold out within another month. Everything went great, all the keywords I had found had little to no competition.

What is the lasting impact those changes will have on your business?

Ecommerce blew up pretty big because of the pandemic so it was great to seize on the opportunity and I plan to continue to ride the wave. The lasting impact is that my early experimentation taught me about third-party logistics (3PL) and how to manage inventory more efficiently.

Has there been a silver lining for your business throughout the COVID-19 pandemic?

Somebody said something to me about COVID-19 that really stuck with me. He said, “You don't have more problems. You have the same amount of problems but they're a lot louder now, they're in your face and you have to confront them.” So it was just a perfect time for me to start an Amazon business.

For anybody looking to start their own business selling products on Amazon, I'd tell them to make mistakes. Don't be afraid to start. Fall down, but fall forward, meaning make mistakes and grow from them. Nothing's going to be perfect, but if you keep growing and learning, you'll eventually reach success.