Opening a business in 2020 is going to be a real challenge. Potential business owners must now deal with the coronavirus pandemic that has plagued the world since December 2019.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major changes in the economy and it has drastically altered the world that we live in. These two factors now influence how businesses open and operate.
- YOUR BUSINESS MUST BE PANDEMIC READY
The 2020 pandemic has changed how businesses operate. All businesses (regardless of industry) must be safe for customers and employees and be able to prevent people from getting and spreading this disease. One of the biggest problems with the pandemic is the transmission of the coronavirus through public gatherings.
Up until March of 2020, people could meet inside business premises, but the pandemic no longer makes this possible. Since the coronavirus is a viral disease, it has the potential to spread quickly from person to person. Also, you are aware by now that many people who have the coronavirus might not even know they have it and can transmit this disease to others without ever knowing they have been affected.
The law now requires businesses to have protections in place such as wearing face masks, hand sanitizer stations and frequent cleaning procedures. Businesses have also been required to reduce the number of people they can have inside of their business at any one time and you should check regarding your business and coronavirus laws and regulations.
- STARTING THE RIGHT TYPE OF BUSINESS IN 2020
The Coved 19 crisis has exposed the close connection between people’s health and the economy. People who live in a society where the fear of illness and potential death is high, generally will not feel confident about venturing out into public. Remember, up until March of 2020 people were used to going out into society and interacting with each other and this fear of illness or death was not unknown.
Businesses were open. Restaurants were serving clients, sporting events were packed with spectators, cinemas had lots of visitors, and conferences had lots of attendees. Once the virus arrived; all the bars had to shut down, hairdressers could no longer operate, people couldn’t gather at the shops and even the local markets had to close.
Anyone trying to start a business must be very selective about what type of business they will run. Many businesses have been closed as a result of COVID-19. The service, retail, and hospitality industries have been severely affected by the forced closures that the coronavirus caused.
At least half of all businesses that operate within these industries before the pandemic hit, are no longer open and the forced closures and social distancing measures have made them impractical.
Tech businesses are thriving and continue to grow during the pandemic. Medical suppliers, cleaning services and even food shops have fared well during the coronavirus situation.
Ultimately, all businesses must be able to run effectively in a pandemic world.
If you start a business that is very suspectable to the negative factors of COVID-19, chances are you won’t be around for long.
- MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN
Having a business plan in place has always made good business sense and a business plan is essential to the start of a new business. Without one, you are seriously harming on how successful your company will be. A good business plan is needed to help guide your organization.
- START A BUSINESS THAT MATCHES YOUR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Of course, you can start a business in any field that you want to, and no one is limited to starting a business in their area of expertise. However, you should think about the type of business that you want to work in before you start.
Again, you can jump into any type of business that you fancy but if you don’t have skills in that area; you either won’t stick with it, perform poorly, or create a lot of problems for yourself.
- GENERAL BUSINESS ACUMEN IS NECESSARY
Having general business expertise is critical. Regardless of the type of business you start, there are some important aspects of business you must understand. For example, you should know about cash flow and how to balance your books etc.
These are but a few considerations that every business owner should be familiar with. If you don’t have a general knowledge of business, you could run into problems with many things, such as paying tax, VAT, operational rules and regulations, and knowing how to effectively dress your shop window.
- ACCOUNTABILITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Accountability, and I’m not talking tax or vat here, is a huge problem because very few people want to be held accountable for anything. But many people want to hold lots of businesses accountable in today’s environment and you will be held accountable for what you (and your employees) say and do.
Social media makes it easy for critics to hold businesses accountable. People can log onto their social media account and put out bad information about businesses and can also use blog sites, videos and even podcasts to cause mayhem so you
must make sure that you are operating with knowledge and in a way to keep your business reputable and respectful.
Treat customers with care and don’t engage in shady or dodgy business deals.
Even your own personal social media accounts should not have anything bad or questionable on them. Accountability is very serious in the modern age and your business could suffer greatly if you don’t take it seriously.
- GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
Your business should be community orientated. When you can give back to people within your neighbourhood and town, people there will know that you like to help, that you care, and they will be more willing to do business with you.
Opening a small business in 2020 will be challenging but you will have a better chance to succeed once you know what to do and how to do it.
With thanks to Christy Bella, Blogger by passion.