News
How the pandemic forced this Black small-business owner to pivot
Courtesy of Columbus Business First
By Hayleigh Colombo
July 5, 2021
Columbus resident Sonya Trent-Pellom’s fledgling small business, Exquisite Wines & Cigars, had just hit its stride before the pandemic.
After a career as a legal secretary, Trent-Pellom began working as a boutique wine distributor. She then transitioned into hosting wine and cigar events throughout Central Ohio, and was on the verge of opening a brick-and-mortar space for events and retailing in January of 2020.
Then Covid-19 hit, throwing her a curve ball.
“We couldn’t do tastings because of all the restrictions,” Trent-Pellom said. “We couldn’t do consultations. We couldn’t put on events. I said, ‘If we don’t pivot and pivot quickly, Exquisite will be no more.'”
Trent-Pellom decided to rebrand as an online retailer of high-end boutique products, from wines to cigars to coffee, tea, olive oil and gourmet foods. She offers subscription boxes and delivery and hopes to still open up a retail location in Columbus.
“It took some time to reimagine a rebranding,” Trent-Pellom said. “I’ll say that experiencing Covid-19 gave me a new outlook on not being limited in business. It opened up my creativity. It sparked in me that need to learn.”
Trent-Pellom was recently selected as one of 30 Black-owned businesses that is part of a new partnership between the Columbus Urban League and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
The partnership has provided her with a chamber membership and other services to help grow the business.
“They’ve been wonderful,” Trent-Pellom said of the chamber. “I’ve met so many different people, and gained insight into a whole different demographic.”
Trent-Pellom said she is trying to be open-minded about the future of her business and what it could morph into.
Along with being a retailer, she hopes to go into the wine education space.
“I don’t now what the future holds for Exquisite,” he said. “I think we undermine ourselves by being short-sighted. Sometimes our sights are set on things that are way too small, and what’s really planned for us is bigger than what we can imagine.”
Other News
- B1G Impact Pioneers: Ohio State’s Stephanie Hightower
- Plan to address Central Ohio’s economic inclusion problem is taking shape
- Central Ohio economist shares predictions for 2025
- Expect anemic job growth in Columbus this year, expert forecasts
- National Urban League Mourns President Carter as “Rarest of Politicians, Driven by Faith and Ideals”