Despite the pandemic, applications for new businesses are up in the U.S. and San Luis Obispo County entrepreneurs have also been getting creative.
There has been a 77.4% increase in the number of people applying for business applications in Quarter 3, according to theUS Census.
Interim Executive Director of the Economic Vitality Corporation of SLO County Maria Kelly says that she finds people are taking the opportunity to start something new.
"The market is changing, we are seeing new businesses evolving, and we all know that recovery is going to look very different and I think people are seizing on that opportunity," she says.
While it is not clear how recovery is going to look yet, the pandemic is providing an opportunity for some.
Chef Kean McCabe is one San Luis Obispo resident who used his skills during the pandemic to create a new business.
McCabe says that when the pandemic hit and he was out of a job and looking to provide for his family, he reflected back to his desire to be a business owner. He started making homemade pizzas for his friends and family which then turned into a booming business selling his popular pizzas on a web-based platform.
That is when he decided to take it to the next step.
Kean got his business license and now runs Earth and Oven as chef of his own private catering company.
Kelly says the pandemic has offered an opportunity for many new entrepreneurs to bring their skills to new, independent jobs like Chef McCabe.
"We know that when there is a challenge or disruption in business, there is an incredible opportunity for creativity and creative problem-solving. A lot of great ideas come out of business disruption," she says.
The County of San Luis Obispo has also seen 474 fictitious business names filed in Quarter 3.
