Covid19 forced the company to turn around quickly to retain customers and make ends meet. According to Nerdwallet, many industry experts and small business owners said that at least four changes will continue to exist.
Creative business model
Megan Cruz, who is in charge of the national retail industry at the federal grassroots defense, said that it has shifted to a new hybrid business model based on infrastructures such as roadside collection and e-commerce operations. These versions may stick to it.
Investing in Digital Tools
Technology has become an important source for many small businesses, said Keith Hall, president, and CEO of the National Association for the Self Employed.
For Keith Wallace, founder of the Philadelphia Wine School, the pandemic meant he transferred online courses to online courses to survive bankruptcy: repurposing his office into a recording studio, turning the main classroom into a video studio, and self-taught how to make and edit videos. As a result, Wallace was able to recoup about 30% of his business income. He is now working on launching three more online programs across the country and said, “This change is forever.”
Reconnecting with the community
Small businesses have strengthened their role in the community during COVID19, Cruz said. She shared the story of Cardsmart Greetings in Buffalo, New York, which was closed during the pandemic. Then, owner Tracey Mangano organized and led the hand sanitizer distribution, demonstrating the existence of small businesses “when the community needs them most.”
New opportunities
According to data from the US Census Bureau, there will be 4.3 million new businesses in 2020, an increase of 24% over 2019.
Hall said, “The demand curve for new small businesses has undergone a fundamental shift. I think millions of people will benefit from it.”
Along with employers, Hall said many laid-off workers become self-employed business owners and take on other small businesses. Business work, these small businesses now have to outsource back-office responsibilities.
There is a long way to go in the recovery of small businesses. According to the latest Federal Reserve report, it is unclear how many closures will occur during the pandemic. But Hall says that if the company has learned anything, it is how to stay flexible and build resilience.
“If you survive, you will ask, you will learn, you will adapt, I think it will only make you stronger,” he said.
Also Read: Ask Them Before Including Services
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