ACBJ papers unveil project on how small biz have handled the pandemic

The 43 American City Business Journals have unveiled a project on Thursday that features  in-depth profiles of entrepreneurs in their communities, sharing their stories about the impact that COVID-19 had on their businesses.

The project, called “Small Business, Big Mission” was the brainchild of the Portland Business Journal, an ACBJ paper.

“The project spurred from an idea that our Portland newsroom came up with — chronicle the challenges and hurdles facing small business owners as they navigate the fallout of COVID-19. Portland decided to follow 6-7 companies in late March,” said Jon Wile, vice president of content at CHarlotte-based American City. “When I heard about the idea, we spread it to every ACBJ newsroom almost instantly with the mandate of following at least 5 businesses for the next two months.

“The culmination is what you see published this week in print and digital — 247 profiles of small business owners from coast to coast.”

The newest ACBJ publication, the online Cleveland Business Journal, will participate in the second phase of the project, which will be out later this year.

“There were countless webinars, PPTs and memos sent out detailing how we would execute this project — from the reporting and writing expectations to what the print and digital design would look like,” said Wile. “I don’t know the exact number but I’m guessing we had about 300 people working on this project in some form or fashion. All of our printed weekly editions this week are a special report that is almost entirely focused on Small Business, Big Mission.”

The project hits the ACBJ core audience.

“These stories are filled with ideas and intelligence that other business owners can use,” said Wile.