When the Covid-19s was identified five years ago, companies faced unprecedented conditions. Under government residence orders at home, some unexpectedly turned into virtual services. For others, revenues decreased, and I went to help employees.
Companies are constantly focused. Companies installed unnecessary waves of rapid change, as shown in these shots for three companies in the Chicago region: a petal receipt company, practice psychotherapy and starting health information.
Challenges are far from ending. In a national poll released last week, 35 % of small business owners occupy the revenue as the largest challenge for the first quarter of 2025-the highest rate in four years. Only 29 % of owners are positive on economic health in the country, and 37 % positive over the health of their local economy, according to the Metlife, The Metlife and Grame of Commerce index, which accounts for 750 small companies.
“Confidence is shaken when small companies are increasingly worrying about their revenues while at the same time they face the possibility that the customs tariff will raise costs for them and their job,” said Tom Sullivan, Vice President of the Small Business Policy at the Chamber of Commerce. “The uncertainty is still a blanket moistened on the growth of small business.”
Chicago pets
Chicago players, which were launched in 2005, offers walking for dogs, and pets for cats and other creatures throughout the city. The closure of the epidemic was a major blow to the two pets in Chicago after people suddenly ordered to stay at home.
“We have lost about two -thirds of our daily walks in dogs for two hours on March 12, 2020,” said CEO Dan Moranville. He said that many of the workplaces told the employees not to attend within a week before Illinois incurred the locks.
To help its sudden sudden employees, Chicago pets have created a campaign that raised about $ 15,000 of customers and others. “Our customers were incredible at this time,” said Moranville.
Most of the year 2020 was “unusually quiet”, but the company turned into further picking a cat in addition to walking in dogs. Moranville said that the works began to recover in 2021, then flourished in 2022. Many customers made trips from 14 to 20 days in 2022.
These days, the demand for pet care tracks with holiday times and holiday times such as spring, summer, thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. He said that the request from Monday to Friday had fell on dogs significantly with people continuing to work from home or on hybrid tables. But Chicago Pet players still see a lot of demand to walk two to three times a week, as well as care for the cat when customers travel.
Some people who work from the house still want the dog paths in the middle of the day. “Customers want more flexibility in their schedules now,” said Moranville.
The company has from 22 to 28 employees-as is the case with Covid-19. Although the demand for pet care has returned, its revenues still range from 60 % to 65 % of the prenatal levels due to remote and hybrid work schedules.
Sofa
The sofa was established in 2012 and has offices in Elmhurst and Glen Ellyn. The company provides psychotherapy to individuals, husbands and families, as well as group workshops, walking and modern treatment.
During the epidemic, health care began from the first time; Before 2020, the law did not allow virtual therapy in Illinois under the law, said Melissa Percy, founder of the abundant sofa. After raising the restrictions of Covid-19, the sofa’s clarity gradually turned into personal sessions, which are “more effective for many of our customers,” said Persiere, a coach and a divorce coach. Now, 85 % of its personal sessions.
Berker said that the demand for treatment services when the sofa clarity increased significantly during the epidemic. Its customers are varied, from young children who struggle with socialization to adolescents and young people who adapt to prominent landmarks, as well as husbands who move in the stress of work dynamics from home. She said that when the restrictions were lifted, some children refused to go to school because they did not want to leave home or their parents.
In general, mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression, have reached new levels.
Birker said that the most healthcare organizations that started to provide mental health services, during the epidemic, began more and the largest health care organizations in providing mental health services, and the market became more competitive. Insurance compensation has been stagnant over the years. Couch Clarity tries to increase revenues by providing new services such as the treatment services based on the employer and yoga Polyvagal, which focuses on the vaginal nerve and the nervous system through breathing and other technologies.
Bercier hopes that insurance companies will pay more services because they ultimately pay the prices of workers in the field of mental health. She said it is common for the processors to work two functions or depend on a partner.
She said: “It is a confusing reason for what it seems that mental health workers have been estimated in the eyes of the public, yet we are paying offspring compared to other types of health care workers.”
The sofa has the clarity of 17 employees, including BERCIER, compared to 14 before the epidemic. But the revenues of 2024 were slightly lower compared to 2021. People focused on self -care during the epidemic and had flexible tables that made treatment available. Now, people have less time or their priorities may have turned, and there is more competition.
Tell health
Nicolas Nachorov and Dr. Alan Javini Incorporen Tail Health, a startup for health information, in 2019. Because of the spread of Covid-19, during the epidemic, the goal of the company stationed in Chicago appeared to publish information from medical experts in a timely manner. Gafffney is a intensive care doctor, and Nestorov is an engineer of information technology by background.
Tell was initially a social media platform similar to X, but only clinical experts can publish content, such as text or video. When her online platform began in January 2023, Covid-19 and Long Covid-19 were basic discussion topics.
Tell the co -founder of Healte Nikola Nestorov
Brian Rich/Sun Times
Nestorov said that interest in mid -2013 in the virus had decreased quickly. I moved to more general topics, including weight loss and pain management, before focusing on women's health issues, such as endometriosis, and other medical issues, such as liver disease.
However, cultivating a new social media platform and competing against the technology giant is difficult. So in 2024, I told Pivot to present online seminars with doctors. Twenty people can attend at $ 100 per person, per session. However, the founders realized that the company's arrival was limited.
Now, Tel is the use of artificial intelligence to create a “digital doctor” trained by current and continuous web seminars with medical experts. It expects a preliminary model in June and hopes to reach a larger audience. Meanwhile, Tell was accepted in Nvidia Inception, which is speeding with the technology giant in February.
The participating founders started the company with $ 1.8 million of seed money from friends, family and others. But the financing was dried after 2023, when the high interest rates slowed the economy. She now has three employees, compared to about 12 in 2022.
Tell has been sparked in Matter, the medical start -up incubator in Merchandise Mart, and is still a member there. Nestorov said that the startup company is proud to be its headquarters in Chicago, but collecting money for Amnesty International producer is difficult in the Middle West. There are more investor interests in artificial intelligence in the Silicon Valley, so Javi is traveling there to collect new financing.
“Tell” to collect a million dollars “to expand our topics, and to host web seminars for questions and answers to more than 1,000 participants, to continue to build the artificial intelligence engine and develop our audience.”
