Ama Barwuah launched her first luxury silk business, BeSilk’d, on Aug.1 during the COVID-19 lockdown and managed the company’s way to success despite the province’s restrictions.
Stock of BeSilk’d silk products. (Claudia Romero, 2020)
“I definitely had a lot of fears when it came to support and the pandemic and not really being sure if people would want to purchase from a home-based business,” Barwuah said.
On Mar. 24, the Ontario government ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and on Nov.23, Ontario placed the order again in Toronto and Peel Region.
Barwuah said it was the power of social media that allowed her Canadian-based company to accumulate sales during the pandemic. She said that BeSilk’d’s online presence attracted international customers in the United States and Europe.
Click to view BeSilk’d’s Instagram page – @be.silkd (Claudia Romero, 2020)
BeSilk’d have gained over 700 followers on Instagram since their initial launch.
“Store-front businesses are getting hit the worst. Social distancing and capacity limits decrease a lot of business for them. Stores and restaurants make the most profit from people physically entering. If nobody’s going outside, there’s no profit to be made,” Barwuah said.
According to Statistics Canada, 38,880 business closures in Ontario were recorded in April, just a month after the province mandated non-essential stores to shut down.
“Business openings in the Canadian business sector also decreased since December 2019, which may have been due to a drop in business confidence surrounding news of the global pandemic, and thus a lower desire to start a new business,” Statistics Canada said.
Each graph displays business closures recorded in the thousands between Mar.2020 to Aug.2020. (Claudia Romero, 2020)
BeSilk’d released a silk face mask collection as a way to be innovative during COVID-19. Barwuah said that masks have now become essential and will always be on the market because they are suitable for anyone of all ages. The silk masks are breathable and gentle for acne-prone skin, she said.
Click to learn more about the BeSilk’d “6FT Collection” of silk masks.
Barwuah said she has taken various safety precautions when dealing with customer orders to ensure product is properly handled and sanitized.
The luxury silk company has contactless, curb-side deliveries and pickups for their local customers.
Check out the owner of BeSilk’d’s step-by-step COVID-19 sanitary process below:
Barwuah took further precautions when her photoshoot for the BeSilk’d launch took place on Jul.26. Each model was required to fill out a COVID-19 screening questionnaire and self-isolate prior to the photoshoot.
“I’m grateful and honoured to be a part of something like that. I won’t lie, I was a bit nervous working with other people but then I remembered that the CEO wouldn’t put anybody in a vulnerable position. So, in that sense, it allowed me to be secure and enjoy the shoot,” Janice Mensah, a model for BeSilk’d said.
Mensah said it is important to support small businesses during COVID-19 because some owners rely on their shops as their only source of income.
“Many owners built their shop from the ‘ground-up’ and it was taken away from them within a blink of an eye,” Mensah said.
Barwuah said that she hopes to expand her business and work outside of home once restrictions are lifted.