How A Baker, Banker And Cleaner Are Growing Their Local Businesses — And Looking

A year ago, the U.S. economy had plunged into a sudden and deep recession. Never before had all kinds of economic activity just stopped. It wasn’t like anything anyone had ever experienced. There was no business playbook or tried and true strategies for companies to find their way through the pandemic.

For months this year, WLRN’s Sunshine Economy has been checking in with three women operating their businesses through the worst of the COVID-19 collapse — and the rebound.

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The Baker

Pilar Guzman Zavala had 13 Half Moon Empanada outlets before the pandemic — including on college campuses and at the Miami Beach Convention Center. When those were forced to close she was left with her ventanita in the Upper East Side of Miami and at Miami International Airport. She was able to survive by winning a Miami-Dade County contract to make meals for seniors.

As business has rebounded, Zavala has played a role in shaping national policy.

The Banker

Ginger Martin is the CEO of American National Bank based in Broward County. The bank concentrates on commercial real estate lending.

Despite worries over how the sudden shift to work-from-home and the slow return of workers to offices could impact commercial real estate, Martin’s bank has been busy thanks to low interest rates, strong trends in some commercial real estate — like warehouses — and processing tens of millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program loans as part of the federal government’s efforts to stimulate the economy.

The Cleaner

Sherry Rudolph runs the smallest business of the three. She moved to South Florida from Detroit and started Legally Clean in Lauderhill 14 years ago. It is a commercial cleaning service — janitorial work.

Before the pandemic, Rudolph had four part-time employees providing janitorial services to offices and homes. A quarter of her business was residential cleaning. That was hit first by people not wanting others inside their homes, then the work-from-home movement emptied out offices, hitting her commercial cleaning clients. She was preparing to sign a new contract to clean apartments and condominiums that would have given her a big boost in revenue but then the pandemic wiped out that possibility.

She pivoted to providing disinfection services, which helped bring in income and keep her business afloat.

The Rebound

Each of the three businesswomen have experienced a bounce back in business since the worst of the pandemic-induced recession. And each have seen their companies grow as business returns.

Last year was a record one at American National Bank. Record-low borrowing costs, high savings rates and federal government stimulus programs helped boost the bank’s business. It was one of the largest local lenders of Payroll Protection Program loans. The loan money is from the federal government with the banks processing the loans. The money does not have to be paid back by companies if they spend most of it on keeping workers employed.

At the bank’s March board meeting, it celebrated some of its milestones from last…