L: Gabrielle Moes, owner of Seasons Catering, R: Michelle Osbourne, cefe de cuisine, distributing meals.
Gabrielle Moes, the owner of Seasons Catering in Ventura, CA., remembers the moment that everything shifted. It was Wednesday, March 11th, and her biggest client of the year, an international conference, called to cancel their contract due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she called Women’s Economic Ventures, her local WBC, for financial advice and they set up an appointment for her the next day.
With their financial advisor, she created a three-month worst-case plan, and then met with her general manager to talk about how they could pivot and continue to get revenue while everyone was canceling events. This was before businesses were called to close their doors and before the population was asked to shelter in place. Ventura County had just asked elderly residents to stay indoors, and they realized that they could provide meal service for residents that were beginning to self-isolate.
They quickly mobilized a plan, deciding to set up a meal service station in their parking lot where people could drive up and pick up food orders without ever having to leave their car. When they saw that grocery store shelves were quickly being picked over, they decided to add grains and proteins to their pick-up offerings. As for produce, they still get their produce from a local farm, so all the meals offered are fresh and minimally handled. These offerings are then regularly updated on social media. Recently, Moes was also able to secure a contract providing 1,400 meals per week to local hospital staff, providing more regular income to make up for the canceled event contracts.
Moes has had to lay off some of her staff, and even now, the remaining team is taking it day-by-day. She’s very open with everyone about the financial situation and has helped employees with unemployment planning. She is also a self-proclaimed “clean freak” and has made sure to keep the working environment even more sterile than usual with the rapid spread of the virus. Containment is very important to her and the team, who practice as much distancing as possible. Because it’s a small group that all know each other well, she’s confident in their collective effort to stay properly distanced both at work and in their personal lives.
When asked what she’s hoping for as lawmakers work on relief packages, she said that while grants are ideal and low/no-interest loans are helpful, none of that will do business owners any good if people can’t afford the goods and services offered. If a low-interest loan is the best she can get, but it means there is more money to put directly in people’s hands, she’s good with that. She hopes lawmakers are thinking about the buying power of the massive amount of people that are and will be suffering financially during this crisis.
The Pivot Profiles are our series on women business owners pivoting their model to meet these unprecedented times. Have a story to share? Let us know!