Leonard Wilson of DI Fitness, Marjorie Rucker of Bado Buna (at table) and Jamila Riley of J. Riley (left) with her mother, Pam McCreary of At Peace Designs. (Wilson and Riley-McCreary photos by Sue Vliet; Rucker photo provided by Marjorie Rucker) Damia S. Causey Jamila Riley, owner of J. Riley, which sells crochet fashion and accessories, suffered a tough mental year. Not only did she deal with the impact of COVID-19 on her business, she also lost her son to gun violence. On March 11, 2020, most of the U.S. came to a screeching halt with the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Riley, who was operating her business out of the Sherman Phoenix, had no idea of how long it would be shut down or what long-term impact the pandemic would have on her financially. It was a scary time as she waited for her permanent space to be finished at The Underground, which is in the basement of the Phoenix. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! Before the pandemic hit, Riley was building up her customer base and planning spring and summer events to introduce more people to her crochet products. When things shut down in March, everything stopped. “The first two weeks of lockdown, I didn’t touch anything that had to do with J. Riley at all,” she said. “The third week I said, ‘OK. This is something that’s clearly going to be here, so how do I adjust?’” As Riley set about the business of implementing a new marketing strategy, she had no idea how much her life was really about to change. On April 11, Riley’s son, Rashad Buggs-Barnett, 23, was shot and killed on Milwaukee’s North Side. “Not only was I dealing with the new normal of COVID but dealing with the new normal of my son is not here. That had the potential to make or break my business.” As she still copes with his death, Riley presses on, saying: “I would not allow the enemy to steal my joy. I know my son would want to see me succeed.” Riley and others local business owners I interviewed have overcome a lot during the pandemic. All spoke of resilience and new things they learned about themselves during the past year. I wanted to hear how Riley and others made it through the year. In addition to Riley, I also talked to Leonard Wilson, personal trainer at DI Fitness; Marjorie Rucker, owner of Bado Buna candles and accessories; and Pam McCreary of At Peace Designs. Here’s what they had to say: Jamila Riley of J. Riley (left) with her mother, Pam McCreary of At Peace Designs. (Photo by Sue Vliet) I had to really do social media. I’m a pen and paper girl. It challenged me to learn a lot of things about social media marketing. The different times of day and where to post. Who was my target audience? Who are my followers? I had to learn how to build a relationship with customers online. Not being able to interact with people. The Sherman Phoenix is a nonstop block party, and we had all these ideas of hosting fashion shows and having guest DJs and then we can’t. I love my people and I’m a hugger, so that was probably the most difficult part for me. Social media. I’ve learned how to network in different arenas, and cross-marketing. Being able to share who I am and what my passion is with other people through social media has been really cool. Deep cleaning. Keeping hand sanitizer at the door. This year really exposed just how unclean stuff is. 1. Put God first. We can have the blueprint as much as we can with our carnal human minds, but He is the blueprint. 2. Be yourself. There are a million people out here and many may be doing the same thing, but be your authentic self and don’t try to mimic what someone else is doing. There could be 27 people selling Tupperware, but no one is going to sell it like you when you put your personal spin on it, so be yourself. 3. Be patient. Be patient with yourself, others and the process. You’re not going to make good money right away or see the money you spent come back right away. That takes time. As you embark on your next big thing, all sorts of roadblocks will be thrown at you. But you gotta stay the course. Leonard Wilson of DI Fitness. (Photo by Sue Vliet) Personal trainer , owner of DI Fitness, had to change his hands-on, in-person fitness training to meet the new normal during the pandemic by switching his sessions to Zoom meetings. Here’s what he said: I had to try something I hadn’t done before, which was Zoom, in order to still reach people to get them healthy. The challenge was being more technical and using online platforms. Being more involved in social media. Just people coming together to support one another was huge. In some of those low moments you start thinking, “OK, I need to figure something else out.