With the global pandemic occurring, it’s no wonder that a lot of businesses, especially the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), had to close down. Currently, there are over 90,000 closed businesses all over the Philippines and according to DOLE, this mass-closure caused a displacement of over 10 million jobs for the Filipinos. 

That is why, a lot of people are asking me and messaging me on my page whether it’s wise to start a business during this pandemic. And in order to answer this question, let’s first take a look on the possible reasons why businesses are closing.

Investment Capital Vs. Returns

The sudden onset of this pandemic took businesses by surprise. Businesses likely failed because of their allotted investment capital. Companies often set their investment capital at the start of the year and depending on their forecast, an increase on their investment is implemented when they expect sales and demands to also increase. 

But due to the pandemic hitting us in the second and third month of the year, most businesses have fallen behind their expected and desired sales revenue which caused a loss, and eventually led to the closure of their businesses.

Uncertainty

“When will this end?” The uncertainty created by the pandemic made business-owners think about their survivability. Would they be able to survive for several months while paying rents, employees, bills, and taxes? And their answer to this would be NO. So instead, they’ve decided to save their money and wait for the pandemic to pass. 

Despite all this, Should you still start a business?

The answer would be YES! 

Simply because you have the advantage of being aware of the pandemic compared to the businesses that closed down. By doing research, you will know what people are spending on, when they are spending it, and where they are buying from. Using this knowledge to your advantage would help you create an effective plan for your investments, capital, business, and marketing.

In fact, a lot of successful businesses today are born out of crises, an example would be the AirBNB. AirBNB started during the Housing Collapse in the United States. During this time, the rental listings were going up and the gig economy was increasing, causing flexible hours and people looking for places to live in. AirBNB was started because of a need, and they turned this into an opportunity to start a business.

Successful Industries Thriving on the Pandemic

Home Improvement

More people are staying at home during this quarantine which urged them to beautify and improve the state of their home. In fact, home improvement, as a whole, saw an increase of 140% viewership on its pages and/or websites and more specifically, gardening and plumbing industries viewership skyrocketed to 245%.

Pet Products

Spending more time with our pets during this pandemic caused us to buy stuff for them. Accessories that make them cuter, products that will improve their health, and pet toys are all pet products that saw an increase during the pandemic.

Home Beauty

Just like how we want our home and pets to be more beautiful, we also buy things to improve our own beauty. With the pandemic, we aren’t able to get our usual skin-care routine because the salons, bars, and spas are closed. So we find products that we can use on our own while also replicating our usual routine. That is why, a 36% growth in the beauty product industry  is seen. 

Fitness and Health

With gyms closed during the quarantine, health and fitness saw a staggering growth of 2-million percent. Home workout became a thing because of the inaccessibility of the gyms and exercise routines that are performed outside the home like jogging, running, and biking.  

Here’s a Tip for You

Now that we’ve discussed the reasons why you should start your business during this pandemic, let’s talk about how you can ensure that your business will thrive. As a digital marketing expert in Davao city, I suggest that you invest in your marketing strategies. 

Out-of-home marketing is unavailable right now, so try and learn digital marketing. Not everyone can afford to hire a digital marketing firm like us or hire freelancers to do it for them, and that’s OKAY. Try to  learn this by yourself. Get social media training. Ask friends. Do what it takes to cater to create a successful business.