Small businesses have been springing up since the COVID pandemic - with residents choosing to work for themselves or discovering a business plan through a hobby they did during the lockdown. Regardless of how the idea came to them, more and more residents are taking the leap into entrepreneurship. And to encourage consumers to shop locally, popup shops have been happening across the country, giving these Belizean businesses a chance to get their names out there. And on Saturday, Old Belize did just that by providing a space for eight small businesses to show off their work. Courtney Menzies visited the event and has this story.
This past weekend, Old Belize held a Small Business Saturday for entrepreneurs to gain new customers - and to encourage shopping locally.
And one of these entrepreneurs started her candle making business while she was infected with COVID. Her sister told us that since then, business has been booming.
Kiara Penner, Marketing, Kandles by Kay
"What had happened was, my sister had contracted COVID and through that time, she went through a really horrible bout of depression so she used candle making as a way of therapy and eventually it just bloomed into this business within the year, it just picked up a lot of traction and we've been busy ever since. We're currently working on getting our candles in stores."
"They can find a variety of candles and wax tarts, the candles are made out of soy, the candles and wax tarts are made out of soy and beeswax, we source our beeswax locally here in Belize, in Succotz, at Belize Western Gold Beekeeping. We have over 35 different scents and more being added monthly and we also have our newest addition which is the terrarium succulents which is our biggest candle yet, it's 16 ounces and we model it after everybody's favorite little cactus, the succulents so those are one of our popular sellers right now."
And if you need a little sugar fix, Kiara also has her own little business, The Whisk Bakery.
But if you're looking for something healthier, then you might want to check out Longevity Kombucha. According to the owner, Zyania Alonzo, the business was born out of a need for healthier options in Belize.
Zyania Alonzo, Longevity Kombucha
"I started because I was on a diet, it was a sugar free diet, and we went to the store and we could not find anything that did not have refined sugars or anything that we could drink that wouldn't give us bad digestive problems and we were sad that we couldn't find anything in Belize and so we just did some research and then we found out that kombucha is like a supplement for soda so it doesn't have as much sugar as soda and it's really healthy for you so that's why we started the business and we started during COVID, the summer, and so far it's really good, I started selling one bottle a week and now we're at 4-5 cases a week."
"Kombucha is basically a probiotic so it's made from black fermented tea and then you add a culture and yeast to it so that ferments for about 10 to 15 days and it makes a probiotic beverage so it's really good for your energy and it has a lot of vitamins, vitamin C, antioxidants and just over all really healthy to drink especially because it breaks down the proteins in your digestive systems that you normally wouldn't be able to break down on your won."
"We have sorrel ginger, pine and ginger, and we have ginger, we also have peppermint for the people who don't really like that pungent vinegar taste."
And Zyania also dabbles in crocheting handbags, sewing clothes, and painting, which she sells under this Instagram page.
But while she doubles as an artist, you may be more of a green thumb. Botanical Gardens travelling all the way from Corozal to be a part of the Small Business Saturday and the owner, Diani Chan, says they've been steadily growing over the past two years.
Diani Chan, Botanical Gardens by Roselynn
"Our business offers a wide variety of different species of plants as pine, palms, orchid, roses, cactus, and succulents and more."
"We started in 2019, I started with my small collection but then I see interested in the field of floriculture because my friend use to motivate me to sell my babies. From that time, till now we have a grown a lot."
"Before COVID pandemic, we used to have better sales but we try to advertise as much as possible and give great prices so our clients continue purchasing from us so from now on we are doing great, we don't have any issues with the demand. We try to offer new species, we try to bring on things that people can't get here in Belize."
And just like Diani, Jacklyn Woods is trying to turn her hobby into a business. She's an artist who uses her hands to hone her craft, but when cancer struck, simple things became harder for her to do. Now she makes jewelry and woodwork as therapy.
Jacklyn Woods, Ningali
"Due to cancer, I'm recovering from cancer, I got neurotherapy and I have problem writing and this is like a therapy for me. Actually I haven't been selling or showing it to people, I'm actually have been giving it away, every time somebody comes, I give gifts, all the things I do, and y husband is the one who's been pushing me to put it out."
"I don't just do jewelry, I do all kinds, I do 3D paintings, I do wielding, I do wood working, I work with all kinds of things."
And these were only some of the small businesses featured on Saturday - others included Forking Around, Eclectic Beads, Plum Kiss Belize, and more.
You can catch our Belizean-made Christmas gift segment later this week featuring other small businesses.
