FLORIDA — It may start as a seed, but if you have a really great ideam it can blossom.

Just ask Karen Ganovsky, who started Neckglasses five years ago.

“We always had our lunches and all of a sudden, you couldn’t read the menu anymore," she laughed. “Nobody wants to wear readers. They show your age, and you’re trying to defy all that."

So, she scouted out chic pairs of eyewear, eager to meet utility with fashion. But, she soon grew frustrated as she kept leaving the eyeglasses behind, after completing interior design work.

Ganovsky told her friends that one day she would invent a beautiful, necklace-like pair with lenses. 

She set into motion as her kids left the nest, a second chapter adventure, drafting designs, seeking out patents, and working with her entrepreneur brother to get mock-up glasses produced overseas.

Before long, the Windermere resident began pounding the pavement, both in person and virtually. Calls led to spots on Good Morning America, the View, Headline News and others, keeping their Mississippi warehouse bustling to keep up with orders. Ganovsky hit Winter Park's Park Avenue, sharing her wares with boutiques, then museums. 

Neckglasses were everywhere, as the company sold half a million pairs.

But, when the pandemic hit, trade shows halted, too. Ganovsky grew worried if her small businesses, selling glasses which range from $10 to $29.99, could survive a blow to sales. No one was going out; no need for fancy spectacles.

Luckily, Retail spending is on the rise in Central Florida, both in person and online, according to Orlando Economic Partnership’s Phoebe Fleming.

Fleming, the organization's director of research, spends much of her time pouring over data, and in her latest crunch found that retail and e-commerce have not just returned to pre-pandemic levels, they have exceeded them.

“Orlando is performing better than, say, the national average in retail spending," Fleming said.

As restaurant and hotel spending plummets — down 4.1% in Florida, and 17.5% nationally compared to pre-pandemic levels — retail spending is on the rise.

In Florida, it hovers at 22.9% above this time last year, 21.6% nationally.

“Seeing how consumers have really changed their attitudes in spending," said Fleming, who pointed to massive retailers, such as Amazon, and stores like Target or Walmart, fueling the boom. 

But, the biggest backer of this comeback is grocery spending, up 27% in Florida from pre-pandemic levels.

“People are changing their habits, staying at home more, cooking at home more," she said. “We’re seeing, really throughout all of 2020, grocery spending being a huge piece of how people have changed their behaviors.”

Fleming said that it translates into a rise in e-commerce opportunities and retail jobs. But when trying to get one of those jobs, how does one stand out?

“We grew up feeling uncomfortable bragging about ourselves, but it’s not bragging if you’re telling the story of how you can become a part of the team," said Nicole McMurray, who works as a Regional Manager for employment service and staffing company, AppleOne. “You can stand out if you make the investment of representing who you are as an individual.”

McMurray said it’s more than highlighting skills; rather, it's sharing a story of growth at previous opportunities and positions, ensuring that social accounts reflect resume achievements — and the person.

“Especially on your LinkedIn, making sure that matches up on your resume," she said. "And key words, key words on your resume."

She added that it's especially helpful during the pandemic to sell one's "work-from-home" capabilities, from having Wi-Fi access to the ability to readily utilize video conferencing tools, like Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

And as retail spending rises, it's about investing in online offerings, she said, whether it’s your searchable resume or your small business.

​“You start doing all the e-commerce, those websites and platforms. We did BOGOs, deeper discounts … even a pandemic special," said Ganovsky, who said she wants to build her small business to one day become part of a larger company. 

And in the interim and slowdown, she's been able to harness her creative side, design more and dream up new styles.

“I know I have to work that much harder getting to the buyers and purchasers for the retail businesses," she said.