INDIANAPOLIS — Felicia Kiesel has owned Boomerang BTQ on Mass Ave for eight years.
"I've got over 70 handmade and local artists in store, and it's just a fun boutique full of all things I love," Kiesel said. "But the pandemic has definitely been a challenge and something I never expected to go through."
Over the past few months, Kiesel said she saw a major difference in income.
"I'm still here, and I've adjusted to figure out ways to make it work," Kiesel said. "It's kind of opened my eyes to a different way to run the business. I'm not just standing in this room all day long."
New data from American Express shows 82 percent of entrepreneurs said they feel better prepared to handle a future crisis.
"Whether it is a restaurant that is now doing delivery using one of the many DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub or it's retailers that are now selling their products online, I think people are realizing you can actually really expand your market," said Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, a financial technology company focused on helping small businesses.
Kiesel has learned to utilize technology to her advantage.
"I have the website with the clothes, but the main sales are coming through social media," Kiesel said. "Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I post, and people will comment or message me, and it's super easy to send an invoice and then it's shipped."
Kiesel said she's gone as far as to video chat with customers and walk them around the store.
"I'll take you around the store, and I'll show you what I have," she said.