More than ever before, consumers are glued to their devices and online consumption is at an all time high. E-commerce has shot up by nearly 40% since the pandemic started in 2020. Consumers now prefer to order in whatever goods or services they can to protect themselves from exposure to the coronavirus. (Forbes Business 13 Jan21)

Our gospel community is full of phenomenal artists juggling both music and business and heres a round up of some of our favourites:

Tasha Cobbs

Billboards reigning Top Gospel Artist of the Decade; Tasha Cobbs, is arguably one of gospels biggest stars. With 7 projects, 1 Grammy, multiple Dove and Stellar awards plus over 2 billion music streams, Cobbs is part of an elite group of gospel artists with crossover CCM appeal. In 2018 the singer ventured into the fashion eyewear industry launching Fritz Eyewear in honour of her late father. A year later, frustrated at constantly missing out on the larger pieces from Beyoncs Ivy Park range and coupled with the struggle to find suitable activewear, the singer  released her own Athleisure line - Curve Athletics.

Micah Stampley

In 2004 Bishop TD Jakes released a project titled He-Motions which included the track Take my life (Holiness). Micah Stampley sang the lead on the song wowing us all with his vocal dexterity and multi-octave range. His debut album The Songbook of Micah Stampley, was released to critical acclaim in 2005 debuting at No 3 in the Billboard Gospel charts and followed by six more solo projects. During a hiatus from recording, the singer turned his passion for cooking into a business, launching Orleans Brews and Beignets Coffee House and Caf. The business has since grown into a full-fledged food company - Orleans Foods, and counts supermarkets such as Walmart and Wayfield Foods among its stockists. The great news for Stampley fans is that he is back in the studio working on new music. In an April Instagram post, he shared Isaiah 43:19-21 with his 148k followers adding the hashtag #newmusiccomingsoon.

Shana Wilson-Williams

Every girl loves a good lippie and Shana Wilson-Williams has been serving just that for the past 2 years. Starting as a small home-based business, the Give Me You singers SarcasticCosmetics brand has gone global and now operates out of a warehouse. Unwilling to rest on her laurels, the business savvy boss babe expanded her business in Jan 2021 to include an online boutique, Sarcastic Boutique. Recently signed to Entertainment One and Light Records, Shanas soon to be released new live recording - I will live features; Sunday service choir director Jason White, Maverick Citys Dante Bowe and Stellar award winner Todd Dulaney.

Written by Akosua DF, Premier Gospel Presenter

The last decade has seen a real boom in entrepreneurs and according to Forbes, 2021 is a great year to consider starting a business. One of the strong arguments for this is ease of access to customers.