Kiki Lally has never met a mess she was afraid of.

The Calgary entrepreneur launched craft studio Pinnovate in the middle of an Alberta recession and has seen her fair share of sticky fingers across hundreds of art classes, birthday parties and camps her business has hosted.

So when COVID-19 measures triggered shutdowns last year, Lally tackled the crisis the way she knew best: with paint, yarn and a bit of creativity.

She launched DIY Delivery, an online website selling craft kits, but quickly discovered set up wasnB次元官网网址檛 cheap or as simple as a few clicks.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not as easy as it looks B次元官网网址� All of a sudden weB次元官网网址檙e learning e-commerce and inventory and creating kits and creating videos and a YouTube channel,B次元官网网址� Lally said.

B次元官网网址淓ven the logistics of delivery sounds so simple until youB次元官网网址檙e actually finding all these nooks and crannies in your city and making mapped out plans.B次元官网网址�

LallyB次元官网网址檚 experience offers a window into some of the challenges CanadaB次元官网网址檚 1.14 million small businesses have faced as they race to embrace e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said one-third of small businesses across the country offered online sales as of November. Roughly 152,000 small businesses shifted to boost e-commerce between March and November and one in five independent companies told the advocacy organization they expect to increasingly rely on that avenue to survive.

While customers have breezed through online shopping, delivery, takeout and curbside pickup, small business owners have been working around the clock, spending big bucks and retooling their entire operations to keep it all together.

Some have had to revamp products and menu items to ensure they donB次元官网网址檛 arrive damaged or cold and soggy upon delivery. Others have toyed with virtual reality to offer digital fittings for apparel and many have dabbled in coding, social media and online payment systems.

Catherine Choi, the owner of Hanji Gifts in Toronto, has been busy with photography.

When COVID-19 struck Canada, her company already had a website to sell goods, but she estimates only 15 per cent of its products were on it.

Choi bought a lightbox and between getting her daughter set up for virtual school and processing curbside pickup orders, she started snapping the storeB次元官网网址檚 inventory.

B次元官网网址淚t takes a long time,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e still probably have less than half our products online right now.B次元官网网址�

Choi has tried to focus on adding items from artisans and manufacturers who provide their photos for her to use because it cuts down on the work.

SheB次元官网网址檚 also zeroed in on items that are easy to ship like cards, stickers, washi tapes, socks and craft paper. Bulky and fragile products like ceramics will come later.

Getting items online has been a time consuming task because Hanji does not have a traditional payment system and uses old-school paper ledgers and binders to track inventory at its three locations.

Choi moved HanjiB次元官网网址檚 warehouse closer to home so she could work late into the evening on processing orders, but that hasnB次元官网网址檛 solved every problem.

B次元官网网址淪omeone may want a card and thereB次元官网网址檚 only one left and itB次元官网网址檚 only online inside our warehouse in Scarborough, so we have to figure out how to get that card to the location they want to pick it up from,B次元官网网址� said Choi.

Dealing with so many changes and stressors at once has entrepreneurs feeling B次元官网网址渙verwhelmed,B次元官网网址� said Darryl Julott, a managing lead at Digital Main Street, which helps companies digitize operations and is backed by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.

B次元官网网址淚 talk to business owners and theyB次元官网网址檒l say we are trying to build a website and every time we talk to a company, they overwhelm us and we donB次元官网网址檛 get answers to our questions, so we donB次元官网网址檛 know what to do,B次元官网网址� he said.

Digital Main Street, which was founded in 2014, is trying to eliminate some of that guesswork and make it easier and less confusing for companies, who are realizing their livelihoods now need B次元官网网址渂ricks and clicks.B次元官网网址�

In recent months, the organization has helped many entrepreneurs set up accounting software, email systems and online stores. The biggest obstacles they notice involve bookkeeping or where owners live in relation to their business, said Julott.

Many companies are still using paper ledgers and any sales or adjustments they make require them to head to their office or store, which can make online operations tough and time-consuming, he explained.

While logistics and retooling a business can be a bother, Lally said the hardest part of the shift online is maintaining hope as the pandemic drags on.

B次元官网网址淛ust like everybody else in Canada we didnB次元官网网址檛 know what this (pandemic) was and what it was going to be and what the long-term ramifications of it were,B次元官网网址� she said.

Most of her staff were prepared to roll up their sleeves and do whatever it took to launch delivery. One worker waived her salary and volunteered at the studio instead.

Regulars even offered to drop off the studioB次元官网网址檚 kits, but most customers donB次元官网网址檛 even realize how much work goes into a transformation, said Lally.

B次元官网网址淚t always looks easy when someone else is doing it, but itB次元官网网址檚 really not.B次元官网网址�

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Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

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