CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A campaign on Facebook is encouraging people to #BuyBlack, reminding people across the world to support black communities before the holidays.

One of those being highlighted by the campaign is Joshua Esnard, who’s been producing his product, Cut Buddy, for several years. From the marketing, shipment, manual labor, and invention, he’s done the work of several people in his small business. 

For Esnard, coronavirus didn’t hurt his business. “At the beginning of COVID-19, our sales spiked more than eight times the daily volume,” he said.

Esnard’s been ordering more shipments of his products to sell during the pandemic. Most of his attention came from being seen on national TV as a winner on the show “Shark Tank.”

While many see that as the hard part, Top of the Hill Proprietor and Professor Scott Maitland said it’s just the beginning.

“That’s something I wanted to teach my students- that oftentimes what looks like success from outside a business is a business existential challenge. If you don’t navigate them correctly, you might not have a business at all,” Maitland said.

Esnard said while profits are good, it's still been an uphill battle to get everything together during the pandemic. 

“Many black-owned businesses that are bootstrap like mine, self-funded, it’s kind of hard to afford the big marketing budget and compete with competitors. The fact we get a chance for people to see the quality products we offer and give us some level of a level playing field makes me feel good,” he says.

Getting help from Facebook’s campaign #BuyBlack is what’s helping him and other businesses like his right now.