Expo highlights local businesses

Nearly 50 businesses displayed their wares at the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Expo on Thursday, June 1 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.

The Expo came on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, which sent small businesses across the country reeling.

Chamber president Tammie Horsfield reported that some local businesses closed in the wake of the pandemic either because of a drop in revenue or owners’ decision to retire.

Of those that remained in operation, “some have struggled,” she said.

But it is not all bad news. Horsfield said she’s starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. “We’re beginning to see people getting back out there,” she said.

The business growth is evident in the chamber’s membership enrollment: 575. While not the highest its been, the number is a strong showing after a difficult few years, she said

Post pandemic, local businesses report difficulty finding and retaining workers, she noted. “Things are different.”

.However, many individual business owners at the Expo reported their positive recent experiences, re-imagining what sales and service look like post-pandemic.

Cindy Nolte, owner of Fresh Look on Life in Augusta, offers hypnosis, Reiki and past-life regression services. She took her business virtual at the beginning of the pandemic and “people saw it could be as effective as in person.” She now has clients around the country.

Anita Horn of United Methodist Communities, which operates a retirement community in Newton, said that despite the challenge of finding employees, business has increased. “I think Covid made people aware of their own health and well-being.”

Tina Hulsman, national sales director of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said that before the pandemic, the company had an in-person business model that prided itself on one-to-one interactions between salespeople and customers. That changed during the pandemic. Once the company pivoted to a virtual model, sales increased.

Horsfield said she hoped that the Expo remind the community that small business is alive and well; and that supporting local businesses help the county as a whole.

“ We need to support one another,” she said.