When it comes to turning business challenges into opportunities, small business owners are quick, nimble, and creative.

With state governments around the country shuttering all non-essential businesses to combat COVID-19 still in full swing, this is truer than ever.

But, unlike years past, where such an unprecedented closure would have put many small businesses out of business permanently, today they’re turning to mobility and connectivity in large numbers to keep their doors open—if only virtually.

At Barre 3 in West Seattle, owner Sarah Heitman is using the popular video conferencing app Zoom to stream the studio’s workouts live to over 100 of her members per class.

As a franchisee, Heitman initially relied on the online videos that Barre 3 corporate produces as part of their standard marketing and outreach efforts. These were fine at first but she quickly realized that her clients craved a more personalized experience.

“They’re looking for a slice of their normal,” she said. “They want to see the studio that they go to three times a week.

They want to see our instructors and we make them feel seen and heard. And that’s what everybody’s seeking, right?”

Because most of her members are using mobile devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops that have built-in cameras and microphones, Heitman’s instructors get to see them in new and interesting ways.

This has led to some fairly comical realizations that, when left to their own devices, her members are getting creative with their workouts as well. From using wine bottles as weights to letting their pets sit on their bellies as they do sit ups, her members, like Heitman, are making the best of a bad situation.

“Clients that used to stand shoulder to shoulder in the studio, it’s just a different vibe,” she said. “It’s certainly not the production quality of the corporate videos, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

My mantra this week is ‘connection over perfection’.”

Even though some members had to suspend their accounts, since moving to the more interactive format Heitmann has been able to keep most of them so, when she reopens, she’ll be ready to jump right back into business as usual.

The story of Michelle Chandler-Smith, the co-owner and director of Inspire Academy of Dance in Seattle, is much the same as Heitman’s. In normal times, she runs a dance academy that teaches 600 kids, six days-a-week how to jazz, tap, pirouette, and hip-hop their way across the stage.

Today, two-months away from their big spring showcase, her classrooms, usually echoing with excited chatter of aspiring young dancers, are silent.

To keep the kids engaged and moving at a time when all the schools are closed, Chandler-Smith and her co-owner Miss Alex, as the kids call her, have, like so many other fitness studios around the country, turned to mobile devices and the video conferencing service Zoom to host online classes. So far, it’s been a big hit. On any given day they have up to 75 kids dancing their hearts out in living rooms, bedrooms, and basements all around Seattle.

“We set up a mobile hotspot for our laptop to stream classes, along with a phone to play music,” said Chandler-Smith. “We are finding this new way to connect and just get students back into moving. Having the ability to connect with their dance school, teacher, and friends through an online meeting gives students the closest possible experience to the real thing.”

Read more: forbes