LocalShops1 founder slows down, becomes more purposeful during pandemic

Six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, Ester Venouziou, founder of LocalShops1, has found new ways to connect the businesses her organization serves with the local community.

The organization now is operating Buy Local Tampa Bay, an online marketplace that makes it easy to buy from local artists, makers and small businesses from throughout the region.

Venouziou had to learn new technology skills to launch the market, one of several personal changes she and many other people have gone through since the pandemic hit.

“It forced us to have more balance. A lot of work has stopped, so you come up with other things to do. On a personal level, it’s helped me slow down and be more purposeful in what I do,” Venouziou said.

LocalShops1, founded in 2008, provides advocacy, support and education to locally owned independent businesses. Most of its revenue comes from events.

It is a membership-based organization but Venouziou is waiving membership fees for struggling businesses that can’t afford them during the pandemic.

For the past four years, LocalShops1 also operated a consignment retail store in Gulfport.  That store shut down at the onset of the pandemic.

LocalShops1 closed its Gulfport retail store in March.

“We closed in late March, thinking it would be temporary, but as things went on we didn’t know how to re-open because it was a tiny space and the appeal of the shop was (in) touching things. We didn’t feel it would be safe for anyone to be working there,” Venouziou said.

The store’s closure didn’t impact the bottom line at LocalShops1. It was a break-even operation, with most of the money from sales going back to artists and the rest used for operating expenses. But closing the store meant one less source of revenue for local artists. That’s when she pivoted to Buy Local Tampa Bay.

The marketplace is free this year, as LocalShops1 subsidizes the costs. Businesses can sell directly online and receive all the proceeds of the sale.

“I froze for a little bit in the beginning. It seemed like everything I was doing was shut down. Events were shut down, our business was shut down. The marketplace was something I was thinking of doing for a long time, but I didn’t know how to make it work financially. So once I decided it didn’t have to work well financially, I just decided to go ahead and do it,” she said.

There are about 220 businesses on board, with about 900 sales transactions as of the end of August. Venouziou hopes that 50,000 people will spend $20 each at the online marketplace, generating $1 million in sales, and in May, the St. Petersburg City Council backed that effort, approving a resolution endorsing the “Million-Dollar Mission.”

The average sale to date has been about $35, and every sale helps a local business, she said.

“Some people tell me if they sell a $25 item, it reminds them someone found them,” Venouziou said. “Mentally, even little sales are a huge boost for the business.”

LocalShops1 also has started doing monthly “Zoom and Learn” events on a pay-what-you-can basis, with topics such as advertising on Facebook, or spotlighting members. One recent event featured Michelle Northrup, founder of Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces. Northrup had been selling her hot sauces at markets and festivals and recently started organizing her own events. When Covid-19 hit, she decided to bring the markets to her customers. She gathers products from 10 to 15 other vendors into a single package, then delivers the “market boxes” to customers.

“This is a business she will keep long term, in addition to her other business,” Venouziou said. “That’s been the cool part, seeing how people reinvent themselves, and hopefully once we get back to the new normal, some of these more creative ideas will continue.”

For Venouziou, discovering her own technical capabilities has been one positive outcome. She’s also taken up candle-making, as part of a new approach to how she lives her life.

“Before I was spending too much time doing things by habit. This gave me a chance to sit back and think which of those things that I am doing really make a difference. It’s helped me re-evaluate my life in general and my work flow. Maybe I was doing things just because I thought I needed to be working eight hours a day because that’s what people do, but it doesn’t need to be like that. Now I feel like I’m doing more now and I’m reaching more people and I’m helping more than I was before, but I’m but working less.”

There have been other positive notes since the pandemic began. LocalShops1’ website lists several businesses that have opened or expanded during the pandemic.

Still, Venouziou worries about the fate of the independent businesses that won’t make it, in part because of the rising rents in downtown St. Petersburg. She’s afraid those local companies will be replaced by chain retailers, which could mean a hit for the overall economy. That’s because 70 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned business stays local, LocalShops1 website says. In contrast, less than 40 cents of every dollar spent at a national corporation stays in the area.

Shopapalooza is an annual Thanksgiving weekend event in Vinoy Park.

Covid-19 has forced the postponement of one of LocalShops1’ signature events, the St. Pete Tiny Home Festival, to March 2021. The organization cancelled its anniversary celebration and community awards program in August.

But Venouziou is still hoping Shopapalooza can take place as scheduled in November. The annual holiday kickoff at Vinoy Park is co-sponsored by LocalShops1 and the City of St. Petersburg. It draws more than 250 local artists, makers and small businesses.

“I talked to the city and they suggested waiting to see how school openings are going before making a decision,” Venouziou said. “We’re in a good situation because we’ve done it so many years. All the vendors are ready to go. We have musicians ready to go. The park is huge and we can spread people out, so socially distancing is doable. But it really depends on how the numbers are. I’m generally cautious about this whole Covid situation, so if it’s looking mildly scary we’re probably not going to do it, but as of now the numbers are dropping so we’re optimistic.”