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EAGLE ROCK, Calif. — You'll usually find an event planner running around town meeting with clients scouting locations and coordinating with vendors. But amidst a slew of event cancellations due to the coronavirus outbreak, Joe Moller is now just going from his home office to his kitchen.

He's continuing to work and find new ways to keep his event planning and production agency going.

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“I'm in a unique situation in dealing with the coronavirus because I have business that has to go on. I have to rely on people who may or may not have come in contact through their own lives, with the virus, and be accountable for a group of 50 to 60 to 600 individuals I've never met, all convening at a single location for an event," Moller said.

Currently, he's working with one of his employees, Demetrius Schmitt, going over the layout of a location they have been considering for an upcoming event.

Three of the six events Moller was coordinating were canceled within one week and he says there is a tremendous ripple effect across a variety of businesses that are involved in events of all sizes.

“One of the interesting cancellations was a trade show an exhibition booth that affected my business, a floral business, a catering business, a lighting company, a signage company, and hourly labor for all of those groups,” Moller said.

Coronavirus fears are battering the $2.5 trillion global trade show industry.

Vicki Moser is an accounting manager for a company in Woodland Hills that staffs trade shows. In just four days, 26 shows that she had hired people for from L.A. all the way to Spain got canceled or postponed.

“For a large company, it could take months before they see the effects of this, but for a smaller company like ours, it, you know in a few weeks, we're already noticing, you know that things are going to be tight, and it's scary,” said Moser.

In an effort to stay afloat, many small businesses in the event and trade show industry are finding ways to adapt.

Moser's boss has gone to bat for the independent contractors they hire, and insisted that trade show clients still pay their invoice if they've given less than 30 days notice of an event cancellation.

“We're finding ways to stay alive. We're finding ways to help out our associates. And we all just have to pull together,” said Moser.

Moller has also found some simple but effective ways of reducing in-person interaction between his clients and vendors by using online resources conducting digital site visits, so clients can review the information in real time and make critical decisions without leaving their desktop.

Every day seems to come with new coronavirus concerns and issues. But Moller insists he will keep forging ahead.

“As an agency, we're trying to be creative. We're trying to be adaptive and doing everything you can to ensure the safety of not only our team members, but our clients," Moller said.

Staying safe and staying positive is now the new normal.

COVID-19 has been officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

For the latest updates go to: coronavirus.gov