- [Narrator] We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic
has caused a temporary closure of so many businesses.
Those who do qualify for unemployment,
have stated it's not enough.
So what are people doing to offset the cost
of living during this time?
- Hey everybody, my name is Theodora.
I'm a 26 year old youth living in sunny Los Angeles,
and I'm here to tell you a little bit
about how I've been staying sane, productive,
and making a little bit
of money while during this whole quarantine.
- Hey guys, my name is Dana Langshaw,
I am 26 years old from Cleveland, Ohio.
- Hello my name is Richard Villa
and I've been a standup comedian for 18 years.
- My name is Chris Trovador.
I am a professional tattoo artist,
I've been tattooing for 10 years.
- I'm Kelsey Rose, and I work as a food stylist
and as a chef.
- Hi, my name is Saori and I live in Los Angeles.
I work as a Japanese freelance translator.
- Prior to the outbreak, I was working at a dental office
on the weekdays, and a yoga studio on the weekends.
Since the outbreak has happened and we have these orders
from the government, I haven't been able to go to work.
Both of my employers have shut down.
Both the dental office and the yoga studio,
and have at least suggested that we go on unemployment.
- Prior to the coronavirus outbreak,
I was a product specialist for auto shows.
Now because of the virus, that has been on a hold,
because you cannot be in groups larger than, well now 10.
So, these events probably won't happen till later fall
or until things get better.
- I have lost all of my gigs for the year of 2020.
One of my biggest gigs I have for the year was
the Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics.
I've been dreaming of this job since I was a young kid,
and it's unfortunate that it has been postponed.
- I work freelance.
In the words of my father, you eat what you kill, right?
So if I don't work, I don't get paid.
And it started right
when like we were really getting coverage
about what was going on in Wuhan, and then the cases
in the United States were starting to pop up.
My boyfriend and I, I will admit dismissed it.
I was like, this is probably another flu outbreak,
it happens, you hear it on the news, bla bla bla.
It wasn't until like, I was booked out for the rest
of March which was secured income,
I was super good to go, great client.
And they all just started either pushing the dates
or canceling them completely.
And the worst thing I was reading was like,
we're gonna push indefinitely.
- The way this all came down for me was this like,
I flew in from Guatemala, my tour had just started.
As I fly in from Guatemala,
I started hearing on the news that the COVID-19
or coronavirus was rapid in China.
I really didn't pay any attention to it
because I was so focused on continuing this tour.
I had two shows coming up, I had my birthday on the 22nd.
We had multiple shows during the week.
As the week went on, they first announced and said,
"Hey, we might have to reduce the show
in terms of capacity."
So I said, "Okay, we're still having a show."
As I was seeing all of this happen,
I could see that I wasn't gonna be able
to celebrate my birthday.
I was born March 23rd, that's it.
I knew that the show was gonna get canceled.
And as the show starting canceling, I said,
"Not my birthday show, not my birthday show, please."
What happens?
They call me, hey, Laugh Factory, has to let it go.
Once the state of California announced, hey guys,
we're shutting everybody down,
can't gather more than 10 people, I got the call,
and that was the cherry on top.
Went to my manager,
"Okay so when can we get back up and running?"
He said, "You don't, that's it.
Everything is done, everything is closed."
- Now, because we are stuck in the house
and because we're getting a little stir crazy,
I started to realize that this
is affording me the perfect opportunity
to start a clothing line that I've always wanted to do.
Right now it's just a t-shirt business,
but I do hope to expand out.
So I've created this t-shirt,
I've created some other t-shirts which are hella dope,
at least I think so.
And I've definitely taken the time to make sure
that I stay productive
because I think we can all get a little stir crazy
when we're stuck in the house.
- We have to think fast, and I luckily got a job
to teach English online to Chinese students.
This has been great because one, I teach in my pajamas,
how cool is that?
And my parents and my students have been so supportive.
- So in the meantime, my source of income has been skrt,
put on a back burner and all I have been doing
is promoting artwork.
But different kinds of artwork, not just tattoos,
I've been promoting my paintings.
I've been doing different kinds of paintings.
I also paint custom shoes, these are the Space Jams,
you know, a little something something.
And then, just staying busy.
These are some boots that I customized.
And this is what I'm trying to promote.
- The biggest things that I have approached
this quarantine with is, how to use my skillset,
and whether it's just as a gift to somebody.
But also as an additional income,
because truly anything really helps right now.
So, I've been baking bread for my neighbors
who have been tipping me which makes me feel great.
One of the things is making birthday cup cakes
and cakes for people at home
because normally you would just run to the store
and get a cake and that's not as accessible
or convenient anymore.
And so, I put up a flyer in our elevator and I was like,
"Hey, is anybody having a birthday,
or they just want a cake?
Let me know."
- As a comic we are our own producers, our own bosses, okay?
So it's not like I can go to somebody else and say,
"Hey, can I have unemployment?"
No, I'm a contractor.
But I have other resources.
For example, I'm knowledgeable at OSHA rules,
so what I started doing is I reached out
to a company that does safety meetings.
Company I'm working with is Bridge Safety Consulting.
What they do is basically engage their audience basically
the work force, in a funny comedic way.
And that's where I come in, that's where Bridge said,
"This is awesome."
I wanna do safety with a smile.
Times are tough, and if you're a comedian,
can you help me deliver these safety messages?
These certain things that I knew how to do is present,
so now I started presenting these safety meetings
through this, video chat.
And with video chat or web cams,
now we're able to deliver these messages,
and these are just some of the things
that I have to do to basically stay afloat.
- I've been working with online platforms such as Upwork
and a lot of freelance applications,
in order to get really small projects here and there,
just to get by.
I understand many people are struggling through
this really hard time and the biggest challenge
for me was staying positive.
Turning on the news and watching the news every day
has been a little bit draining mentally for us as a family,
and I think it's really important that we stay positive
for ourselves and for everybody around us.
- Guys, best thing you do is keep yourself busy.
Do all the things that you never had time to do.
And I know, because I never had time to do these things.
And that includes being with your family,
bond with your daughter or son.