How the Pandemic Impacted Entrepreneurship
The COVID-19 pandemic entirely changed the way most people approached, well, everything. The economic and business consequences of the COVID era have been immense, and businesses have taken a huge hit. For small businesses and entrepreneurs, it has proven to be a particularly difficult time from which it will take years to fully recover.
To learn just how the pandemic has impacted entrepreneurs and what the future looks like for entrepreneurship in the U.S., Skynova surveyed over 500 people about all aspects of the world of business and how the pandemic has affected it.
Among respondents, 57% said they were negatively impacted by the pandemic. While 18% said they weren’t impacted at all, a shocking 26% said they felt the pandemic had a positive effect on their business. Overwhelmingly, the biggest industry impacted among entrepreneurs who saw negative effects from the pandemic was retail. Seventy-six percent of entrepreneurs who were negatively impacted said their business was in retail, while 71% said they provided in-person services, 69% were in the hospitality industry, 47% worked in e-commerce, and 42% in digital services.
Interestingly, 40% of e-commerce businesses and 44% of digital/remote entrepreneurs said they were positively impacted by the pandemic. The biggest favorable impact among respondents who felt the pandemic had affected them positively cited a new customer base. Twenty-two percent said as much, while 21% felt that a growth in e-commerce was responsible for a positive experience.
The top negative experience for entrepreneurs was overwhelmingly revenue loss, with 47% highlighting that as the thing that impacted them the most. Forty-four percent said a loss of customers was to blame, while 27% blamed delayed timelines, 24% cited temporary closings, and 21% said supply chain issues weighed heavily.
Pandemic Fuels Global Growth Of Entrepreneurship And Startup Frenzy
The global pandemic has brought about a true boom in startups, as the number of new companies around the world has significantly surpassed the indicators of last year. Such a surge in entrepreneurship is being attributed to workers who were laid off and started their own businesses.
The Financial Times reports, citing official state statistics, that a boom in entrepreneurship in many countries has been recorded against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020:
• In the United States, in July 2020 the number of applications for starting a business reached its all-time highs of 551,657 00 an increase of 95% compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Census Bureau.
• In France, 84,000 new businesses were registered in October, according to McKinsey. This is a historical maximum and a 20% increase from the same month in 2019.
• Japan registered 10,000 new businesses in September 2020, up by 14% over the same month in 2019.
• In the U.K., the number of registered companies increased by 30% year on year in November and December 2020, according to the National Statistical Office. Startups have grown in the double-digit values since June.
Such a natural accelerator of startups as the pandemic has undoubtedly had a positive effect on the global economy. These developments on the individual entrepreneurship level are likely to aid numerous economies to quickly defeat the consequences of the pandemic. However, at the same time, some of the newly formed enterprises may not be able to withstand competition or find an application and are likely to quickly go bankrupt.
“You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why you can, and be one of the exceptions.” – Steve Case, co-founder of AOL
15 Business Ideas to Launch During a Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many professionals who had been furloughed or laid off decided to forge their own path and launch a business. These newly minted entrepreneurs quickly discovered that, despite the national and global circumstances, there were plenty of pandemic-friendly business ideas that could be successfully executed.
Although the vaccine is beginning to restore normalcy to everyday life, some lasting changes from this time, like remote work, online retail and home delivery services, will carry over into the post-pandemic world. Plus, launching a business with the pandemic in mind means you can future-proof your new company for crisis situations like COVID-19.
How To Start A Business During COVID
According to a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Covid-19 pandemic has placed a tremendous strain on the American economy, with more than 100,000 small businesses permanently closing their doors. Yet despite these statistics, the increase in U.S. new business applications hit a 13-year high, as highlighted in an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the Wall Street Journal.
What is inspiring these brave entrepreneurs to start a business during such unprecedented times? A recent survey reveals that 27% of these new founders were laid off from their full-time jobs, while 51% identified a unique business opportunity and decided to make the leap. Given that recessions are times of great need and moments of crisis inspire innovation, this may be a great time to strike out on your own.
Here’s how these small businesses pivoted to survive during the pandemic
When the Covid pandemic hit, small business owners across the country scrambled to stay afloat.
Those who managed to stay open were the fortunate ones. As of May 5, the number of U.S. small businesses that are open decreased by 33.8% compared to January 2020, according to Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based economic tracker.
SBA COVID-19 Relief Options
Paycheck Protection Program – This forgivable loan helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis.
COVID-19 EIDL – This program provides funding to small businesses and non-profit organizations currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue related to COVID-19.
Shuttered Venues Grant – The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program provides emergency assistance for eligible venues.
Restaurant Revitalization Fund – This program provides assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other food service businesses impacted by COVID-19.
SBA debt relief – SBA provides a financial reprieve to existing borrowers during the pandemic.
Start-ups: Entrepreneurship Through the Most Innovative Ideas
Startups are small but brilliant companies. They are the result of groundbreaking ideas through which entrepreneurs want to change the world. In addition to its capacity to innovate, the difference between a startup and an SME is the flexibility of a startup in adapting to change and in its customer-centric approach.
In 1996, two students from Stanford University joined forces to create the best Internet search engine. They developed it within the facilities of the university itself as well as in a neighbours’ garage. And thus, Google was born. The project did not take long to find its first investor: the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Andreas von Bechtolsheim, who gave them a cheque in the amount of 100,000 dollars.
Young entrepreneurs — such as Larry Page and Sergey Brin were in their day — are the origin of many small companies that have great potential for growth. Although they are developed in almost every sector, the vast majority arise from technology. Google, Twitter and Facebook were all born thanks to a start-up — or emerging company —.
16 Entrepreneurship Trends for 2021/2022: New Forecasts & A Look Into What’s Ahead
New technologies, evolving customer demands, societal shifts, and the COVID-19 pandemic are rapidly changing the business landscape. These factors paved the way for location-independent companies, niche markets, disruptive industries, as well as closely-knit global teams. However, to reap the benefits that these changes have to offer, you must keep yourself up-to-date on the emerging entrepreneurship trends.
To help you out, we have compiled some data on the different industry shifts to look out for in 2021 and beyond. With this, it’ll be easier for you to fully grasp the changes that can affect your entrepreneurial endeavors and update your strategies accordingly. As such, you can keep your business moving forward in the changing times and keep your edge against the competition.
Many people put entrepreneurship on a pedestal. As a result, people at a very young age are being encouraged to become entrepreneurs when they grow up. This idea took deep roots in many of America’s young people’s minds. In fact, 12% of all SMEs have Millennial owners (Guidant Financial, 2020).
However, it is really hard to become a successful entrepreneur. To illustrate, only half of new businesses survive five years or longer, while only a third reach the 10-year mark (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2019). This is attributed to the many hurdles and challenges that lurk in the ever-changing business landscape. Many new (and even seasoned) entrepreneurs fail to keep up. Thus, they get selected out of their respective evolutionary markets.
What’s more, external market forces are not the only things to overcome. Some entrepreneurs may have started on the wrong foot altogether. Researchers found that about 42% of failed businesses were not needed by the market at all (CB Insights, 2019). This means that these entrepreneurs offered products and/or services that nobody really wanted. Moreover, about 17% marketed non-user-friendly products.
Read more at FinancesOnline.com
How an entrepreneurial idea can be transformed into a startup
Starting your own business is tricky and risky. Many things can go wrong. Starting off requires a capital that not everyone has. Finding that capital is not very difficult. Business loans were created for that particular reason. But can you be certain that your business will flourish? Will you be able to pay the loan back? These scary thoughts haunt the minds of the young aspiring business owner and keep them from making their dreams come true!
It is true that it is impossible to know what the future of your company is going to be like. But what you can do is raise the odds of success. To do that you need an idea. The IDEA. That one idea that will make your business shine. That one idea that will be different from all the other. The idea of an Entrepreneur.
An entrepreneurial idea is a special thing. It is an innovating idea of offering something different. An idea that no one else has or even if they did, yours is a little bit different. It offers something more. And it is that idea that will give your business a good chance in the labor market. Turning the entrepreneurial idea into a startup business, however, demands certain expertise. The idea itself will not be enough without the right background to support it.
Acceler8Success Group: Connecting the Right Brands, People & Opportunities!
The uncertainty of COVID-19 pandemic created the perfect time to diversify and expand. After all, it’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. To that end, Acceler8Success Group was formed mid-2020, building upon Acceler8Success principles and methods that have proven successful since 2014.
Widely recognized as industry leaders & experts, Acceler8Success Group leadership have extensive experience as entrepreneurs in small business & restaurants, as senior-level executives within nationally recognized brands, and as franchisees within successful franchise systems.
Members of Acceler8Success Group along with Strategic Partners have earned designation as Certified Franchise Executives, Certified Franchise Brokers, Certified Business Brokers and Commercial Real Estate Brokers. Positioned to deliver services within the U.S., Canada and other Global markets, languages spoken include: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and Russian.
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