She spent a majority of the COVID-19 pandemic unemployed or doing gig work.
Nowadays, Alli Donaldson, 22, is busy balancing two businesses she started in May: a baked goods operation and a makeup and spa parlor on Durkin Drive. It s been kind of an insane few months, said Donaldson, owner of Alli Donaldson Makeup + Aesthetics and Golden Hour Bake House, a weekly stand at the Old Capitol Farmer s Market. She said that all the twists and turns since the beginning of 2020 has ended up being a blessing in disguise and rewarding because of the outcome.
Donaldson stopped her day-to-day job as a delivery driver with the intention of starting her independent practice as a licensed esthetician. Her first attempt at starting her salon in a brick-and-mortar location was derailed by the pandemic. Of course, between late March and May, even the most established of salons and parlors were unable to properly operate due to statewide COVID-19 restrictions.