Jill Copley, Total Hearing Care of Dallas We are an independent private audiology practice. We do testing to see if people need hearing aids, as well as some audiological testing for physicians. We dispense hearing instruments, as well as assist patients with other hearing problems they may be having, such as difficulty hearing on the phone or understanding the TV.  

Who do you consider your best customer or target audience? Our target audience is typically older adults over the age of 65. 

What's been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?  The greatest impact started in March when Dallas shut down. We are considered an essential business, so we were able to keep our doors open and we started doing curb side service. In the months of April and May we saw significantly less patients. We did have to do layoffs but after receiving our PPP loan, we were able to bring a few employees back and by June and July business picked back up to normal.  

What are some actions you have taken to make a difference?   One of the things that we did was start curb side service. We would have people come up to get supplies or have cleanings. They would call when they arrived at the office, and we would go out to them so they wouldn’t have to come into the office.  It didn’t bring in a lot of money during those first couple of months, but it let people know we were here and available. It helped keep us in contact with patients, and we are continuing that service to allow for physical distancing in the waiting room. At a few of the residential facilities that we visit we had to get creative and bring the curb to the patient. We would go out to the facilities to pick up hearing aids from the residents and bring them to the office. We cleaned and checked the hearing aids and if there was a problem, we would call the resident.  We’d then take the devices back the same day. 

It's been said that smart people learn from their mistakes, but the wise learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes that you’ve made that could help others? I would say that one of the things that could have been done better prior to COVID is really looking at how we communicated with our patients digitally. We were getting Zoom and online things in place and I think that COVID really pushed us to complete that process. One of the things that I learned is that you need to keep up with your database closely and frequently. As far as things I would recommend to other entrepreneurs is contact your congressional representative if you have issues with a federal agency.  I was having trouble securing an EIDL (economic injury and disaster loan), and someone recommended I contact my congressperson.  I had to do some paperwork to verify that I was their jurisdiction, and once they sent the inquiry, I heard from the SBA on that same day.  

What is most inspiring to you today? I think what most inspires me and kept me sane during this time is how well the employees came together during the first weeks and months to make sure that we made things safer. Two examples are that they were able to figure out how we’d do our curb side service and then the plan to go to the residential service.  

Offer: We are offering a free hearing aid consultation (includes the hearing exam and the discussion of hearing instruments for those who need them).  

Contact: Drjillcopley@totalhearingcare.com / (214) 827-1900 / www.totalhearingcare.com 

Richard McClure, AVSD Production We are an AV entertainment company and we do everything from corporate to social events and almost anything that goes within those realms. Setting up stages, lighting, drapery, DJs, sound systems, high tech photo stations, virtual reality booths and print on demand.  

Who do you consider your best customer or target audience? Anyone with those needs, corporations as well as brides. What we tend to do is work a lot with planners and destination managers. 

What's been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?  The loss of over 400k in revenue in the last 4 months. A lot of our yearly events have been cancel/moved but mostly canceled.  

What are some actions you have taken to make a difference? We pivoted and brought video back in the mix, we are doing live streaming and we have created a window washing company within the company.  

It's been said that smart people learn from their mistakes, but the wise learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes that you’ve made that could help others? I think hiring bad people is a mistake that I’ve made and it’s very important to check the references of people and really vet people before you hire them to make sure you are getting the right person.  

What is most inspiring to you today?  That all of this has happened and I think people have looked out for each other on the web and on social media. People are asking how people are doing rather than just letting people be – I see a lot of people trying to help out. People are caring about each other more. 

Offer: For anyone that does a 2-camera stream we will throw in a 3rd camera for free until the end of November ($558 value) 

Contact: richard@avsdpro.com / (214) 331-3333 / www.avsdpro.com 

Michael Levy, Online Rewards CEO & founder of online rewards and we are in the business of building rewards system solutions for companies from US government to fortune 1000 companies. 

Who do you consider your best customer or target audience? We have approximately 450 client programs and operation and they range from very large employers like Macy to companies with around 500-1000 employees. They cross industries from retail, health care, industrial, and financial services.  

What's been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?  It has helped us with efficiently working with employees remotely. Our company went remote almost over night and we have about 65 employees and noticed probably an equal to improvement for productivity for the nature of type of work we are doing. Our business has grown during this time due to the nature of our services we are able to help other companies with their remote employees.  

What are some actions you have taken to make a difference?  As the CEO I have produced a number of videos and distributed to the employees to create and additional level of security and individual acknowledgement. I want my employees to know their contributions and efforts are making a difference. And the use of tools like SLACK and Google meets are very powerful and if companies are not using those kinds of tool they are very helpful for connecting and getting work done with teams.  

It's been said that smart people learn from their mistakes, but the wise learn from the mistakes of others. What are some mistakes that you’ve made that could help others? Make sure that your partners/teams have complimentary skills and capabilities to you. It is the complimentary skills that produce better results. If everyone comes from the same background the likelihood of forming a larger and more educated perspective will be less likely. Having a good mix of perspective, people and backgrounds is an assets.  

What is most inspiring to you today? People who are struggling under the difficult circumstances still coming to work with a brave and strong face and know we will all get through these times. 

Contact: Michael.levy@online-rewards.com / (513) 665-9070 / www.online-rewards.com