We are only left with a few weeks to make the most out of 2021. A new year is just around the corner, and it’s sad to leave this period of chaos with nothing good to remember. It would be nice to leave 2021 behind along with the bright horizon.
Like many people, you might not want to launch a business during an economic decline. That’s understandable. The pandemic has closed down and affected many businesses, big or small— nearly no one was spared.
But what if I tell you that opening a business, even in this last quarter of 2021, could be the smartest move you can ever make?
You must have heard of the hackneyed phrase “Look at the glass half full instead of half empty,” “Every cloud has a silver lining,” or “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” When adversity like a pandemic throws punches, our power emerges in the way we respond to it.
The proverb mentioned are overused for a reason: they function well. These famous maxims carried countless people through challenging times in the past.
To learn the secret to why 2021 has to be your year and how you can capitalize on it fully, keep your eyes on the screen and continue rolling the ball!
Is 2021 A Good Moment To Start A Business?
Humanity has been haywire with a negative bias for survival. The psychologist Rick Hanson stated, “The brain is like Teflon for positive ones, and Velcro for negative experiences.” Hence, we often overestimate threats and undervalue our ability to get the better of them.
With the global recession that we are all battling right now, many business owners hope to weather the storm. However, one cruel fact that we all should accept is that the pandemic will possibly still be here in the next year, and that can be an uphill battle when starting a new business.
Yet, entrepreneurs born could find this moment as the perfect time and opportunity to launch a business. Don’t rule out the possibility of being your own boss because of the unfavorable situation.
The CEO and co-founder of the famous personal finance company Nerdwallet, Tim Chen, have stated that he is “weathering the coronavirus storm,” like other businesses. Still, he remains optimistic and focused on the silver lining in this health crisis, saying, “Now is the best time to build a company.”
According to Chen, he was terminated from his job at a hedge fund company during the recession back in 2008-2009. Nevertheless, rather than frustratingly taking it as a setback, he took his unemployment as an opportunity to become an entrepreneur.
As of today, Nerdwallet is among the most trusted personal finance company, having over 10 million visitors monthly and value exceeding half a billion dollars.
Coronavirus and Booming Industries
Covid-19 is indeed a significant social and economic challenge, affecting people worldwide. Nonetheless, some industries flourished and thrived thanks to the virus, such as:
Delivery Service Industry
Coronavirus emergence has brought the delivery service industry to the limelight.
Although the pandemic has shaken almost every industry in various ways, 2020-2021 was something to be grateful for those in the delivery service industry. With establishments forced to close during lockdowns, delivery services have graced to become a lifeline to ensure business continuance.
People started to order things online to buy things that could pass their time. Food delivery became in-demand since restaurants, and fast-food chains were restricted from accepting walk-in customers. Hence, people had no other choice but to resort to delivery.
Medical Products Industry
Obviously, a health disaster calls for a high demand for medical products. Everything related to preventing and curing coronavirus has been selling wild in the market more than ever before— sanitizers, alcohol, masks, and latex gloves.
What makes this industry beautiful is it isn’t only profitable, but it can also save millions of lives.
Software Industry
The world is advancing innovation, so it’s no surprise that this industry has been shooting up despite the pandemic, but there’s no denying that the pandemic made this field of business prosper more due to the pandemic.
Software that is designed to connect people benefited more from the pandemic since they became the primary means of communication in a world with no physical socialization.
Successful Business Started In A Recession
Have you heard that some of the biggest brands around the globe rose during a recession? This just proves that even an economic contraction can produce the best opportunities for entrepreneurs.
To name a few, here are some businesses that started during a recession:
Burger King
James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King upon realizing how convenient it is to have fast, affordable food when America’s economy was laid off after Korean War in the 1950s. Hence, they make the most of public appetite for their product by selling licenses of their business.
Microsoft
In 1975, Microsoft emerged amidst low employment, stagnant domestic product, and high inflation in the United States. Now, it has turned into a global tech giant with a net worth of $456.132 billion.
FedEx
FedEx is a multinational delivery company that provides businesses and customers with a broad e-commerce, transportation, and business services portfolio.
Behind the success of this thriving company is a university project back in the 1969-1971 market depression. After a few decades, FedEx now supports over 650,000+ employees, having $66.68 billion net worth.
Frankly, starting a business during a recession has no 100% guarantee of success. However, although it will be a pretty tough journey, don’t let the declined economy scare you. Here are some pretty reasons why you could succeed in a recession:
- Low competition. Since coping up with losses during a recession is quite challenging, several businesses will have a hard time opening up to the public once again, lowering the competition.
- Availability of talent pools. No matter how good an employee is in a company, companies will still have no choice but to fire them if the recession is closing them to bankruptcy. Thus, you can easily snatch up talented employees to work for you at a reasonable price.
- Necessity drives innovation. Problems call for necessity, and necessity demands a solution. This is where your business would come in. Since Covid-19 has caused a specific set of problems, you can put up a startup that can serve a purpose to the people’s needs. Your little business can fill the gap the big business left and eventually succeed.
- Cheap marketing. The pandemic caused the ad rates to decline drastically, so you will be able to establish your brand at an affordable price. Moreover, because people are inclined to use social media platforms while they are stuck in their house, it becomes relatively easy to go for organic marketing, word by mouth.
New businesses are unstable
Once we come out of this pandemic, the world will never be the same. Yet, startups have the advantage of moving much quickly better than old businesses who are still trying to clean up the mess they have gone through economic decline.
Despite the good opportunities that can be taken advantage of during market contraction, the founder and CEO of Nerdwallet advise entrepreneurs to take things slow when opening a new company or launching a product during a recession.
When starting a business during a recession, it is important to build a good foundation slowly instead of optimizing everything for speed.
If you want to start a profitable business before 2021 ends, begin raising as little money as possible and then work out how to handle small amounts efficiently. This will help you be systematic and coherent in handling a big amount of money when things go well for you.
