'We went from software to selling pizzas in Covid'

The announcement of the first Covid-19 lockdown changed everyone's lives, but for some it was also the launchpad for a very different way of working and making a living. Five years on some of these business owners have been sharing how the pandemic changed their careers.

When the first Covid-19 lockdown was announced in March 2020, Rachael Willoughby and Elliott Richmond had to rapidly find new ways to earn a living.

Income from their marketing and software businesses "halved overnight".

They said they realised that restaurant businesses had the potential to do really well, especially if they could pivot to takeaways.

Elliott had been making pizzas for years, with family and friends telling him he should sell them.

"We'd always pooh-poohed the idea, and said don't be ridiculous, but we thought let's give it a go, and three weeks later the business was born," he explained.

The couple did not know at the time that their pizza business in Bishops Cleeve would not only be a success, but would expand into different avenues.

"We literally thought we would be open for a few months while lockdown happened and then we would go back to normality.

"But this is now our normality, my kitchen turning into a pizza takeaway every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Delivery drivers rush in and out, it's quite bizarre really, but we love it."

The couple have recently opened a mobile kitchen which cooks and serves pizzas at events including weddings and corporate functions.

Their latest venture offers people the chance to buy all the software and marketing tools required to run a similar business from their own kitchen.

After spending 15 years working in insurance, Russ Jones-Walker from Hucclecote in Gloucester decided to become a Pilates instructor, teaching classes in a number of gyms.

This didn't look like the best move when the first lockdown was announced just six months later.

"I was reluctant to move to online classes," he said.

"I didn't think it would be as good, and I thought the pandemic would blow over pretty quickly. But I was badgered by my clients."

The 39 year old also worked as a key worker in a nearby supermarket alongside his online Pilates classes.

"People started getting more significant results as they could do more, on their own schedule, which flipped my mindset on Online Pilates. I launched a YouTube channel which is still running," he explained.

He now has clients across the world, from Canada and USA to Abu Dhabi and New Zealand.

Laura Evans said she had dabbled with making pancake cakes for friends while working in the aviation industry.

But during her maternity leave in 2019 she set up Sisu Pancakes, selling to the public.

"The negative of lockdown was we couldn't see our customers face-to-face as easily. But on a positive note, people were looking for treats, and they were more supportive of small local businesses.

"During Covid people shared pictures of what they were eating, so it helped from a marketing perspective, we did well from word-of-mouth."

Sisu Pancakes now has a shop in Cheltenham, has opened a kiosk in Gloucester Quays, and also supplies Selfridges in Birmingham.

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