How Small Business Survived the Pandemic?

The year 2020 started with the Coronavirus pandemic and forced the whole world to stay at home to contain the virus. Most of us have never heard of such a health crisis in our lifetime, and we were not ready for it. Yes, almost all businesses came to a standstill overnight.

But, soon, businesses found alternative ways to handle the pandemic, especially those corporate giants and other leading companies. Though the pandemic was a big blow to all businesses in every industry, it had a hard hit on small businesses. When small businesses had to shut down their companies/shops/outlets, many local communities that relied on them started facing unemployment and a cash flow deficit.

Unfortunately, some small businesses had to shut down forever. However, some adapted to the evolving situation and found creative ways to change their business operation models. Thus, they managed to survive the pandemic and are still running the business successfully.

As we all know, small businesses are the backbone of the country’s economy. They provide employment opportunities to half of the private sector workforce and act as the building blocks of the largest corporations. Yes, most established big organizations outsource their products/ business functions to these small companies.

So, the success of the small businesses is the success of the country. Though we are almost out of pandemic now, what if some other health crisis happens in the future?

Looking back, let’s learn the strategies and tactics that these successful small businesses followed to overcome the pandemic. Thus, you can be better prepared for any such disastrous and challenging situations in the future as well.

Here are some of the strategies that the small businesses followed to keep up with the challenges they faced during the pandemic.

1)Start Selling Digitally:

When small businesses had to shut their physical shops or not open for a longer time due to social distancing norms and regulations, they started to serve their customers digitally. Most of them figured out how to sell on their websites, online marketplaces, and social media platforms.

As they had limited time to shift their business to digital platforms, most small businesses relied on third-party delivery apps to deliver their products. Those apps came in handy to help them with the contactless payment adhering to social distancing norms.

The current new normal situation demands all businesses to serve digitally regardless of their sizes. The shift is mandatory, and it is a sharp learning curve for small businesses. The sooner the transition, the better their survival.

2)Pivot Your Business Models:

The economy was highly volatile in those unpredictable situations. With never-ending and ever-changing rules and regulations, entrepreneurs had to act fast. Thus, they learned how to pivot.

Pivoting is nothing but shifting to a new strategy to fix something that is not working well with your business. The shift can be anything like moving your digital platform from a website to an app. Or, it can be even more complicated, like changing your entire business model.

Though it may sound unusual for some, it has happened in history. In 1971, Starbucks went through a drastic pivot when it moved from selling coffee beans and espresso makers to a coffeehouse. Now, we all know the craze behind Starbucks coffee across the world.

Being flexible in strategies and pivoting whenever the situation demands is crucial for surviving and thriving in this highly competitive marketplace. Pandemic was one such adverse condition that businesses had to pivot their business models to meet their customer’s expectations.

3)Communicate With Your Customers Often:

Since most physical stores were closed during the pandemic, these small businesses leveraged digital platforms to connect with their customers. They were actively present on social media platforms, attending calls, addressing and supporting customers’ needs constantly. In short, they never allowed social distancing norms to distance their customers from them.

Clear communication was inevitable to avoid any discomforts to the customer. These small businesses made that a point and informed every detail on their social media profile or website. For instance, they intimated the change in timings prior or any other critical information up to date. Thus, the customers need not travel unnecessarily or wait for a long time to shop from your store.

The more you make their shopping experience easy, the better you are going to retain them. These businesses managed to provide a positive shopping experience despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. Thus, customers kept coming back to their business, and the business thrived amidst the pandemic.

4)Optimize Your Business Spendings:

Small businesses played well with their money during the pandemic. They reevaluated their spendings and reduced the unnecessary costs. Of course, cutting costs made a positive impact on their business growth during that uncertain health crisis.

However, more than cutting costs, they optimized their business spendings. For instance, they invested in digital marketing during the pandemic rather than spending money on hoardings, prints, or other marketing modes. Moreover, digital marketing drastically reduced their marketing expenses while also taking their business to potential buyers.

Another way these businesses optimized their business spending was by choosing the right vendors. Yes, as a business owner, you can let the vendors know that you are looking for better prices. Most vendors will give better discounts to sustain your business with them. However, even if the vendor is not providing discounts, you can always find a better deal elsewhere.

The logic behind it is to evaluate the business spendings and focus on optimizing it. Though it is crucial to know where your money goes always, it is highly essential to reevaluate your expenses in such an uncertain health crisis.

5)Ask for Help from the Local Government:

As small business owners, they knew they were not alone in the journey. It was a hard time for everyone. Thus, many small business owners started reaching their local government, asking for help. The government also provided the available resources and supported them in need.

What you have to observe here is how they handled such uncertain situations positively. Rather than fighting alone, they built a community. They stayed connected with fellow small business owners and were vocal about the challenges and problems they faced during the pandemic.

Yes, getting involved is an excellent way to gain support for your business and your local community. So, all you need to do is to ask. Never hesitate to ask for help from the government.

6)Take Care of Yourself and Your Employees:

The pandemic did not just affect people’s physical health, but it took a toll on everyone’s mental health too. No one will ever wish them or their employees to undergo critical illness like Covid. Death also happened in most of their lives. But, still, these strong entrepreneurs accepted reality and moved on to better lives rather than living in the past.

Life after the pandemic was also not so good for everyone. Some of you might have gone through illnesses, loss of loved ones, business losses, and so on. However, we need to look forward to the next day no matter what. That is how we can survive and thrive in our lives.

Take a break from your routine and even go gadget-free for a while. That will help you rejuvenate your mind and refresh yourself from your monotonous schedule. Plus, take time to connect with your friends and like-minded people. Talking your heart out with your loved ones will help you relieve stress and overthinking.

You can take care of your employees only if you are confident and hopeful. Always be there for them during difficult times. Above all, they have worked hard to keep your business running for this long time.

Final Thoughts:

The Covid-19 pandemic was challenging for everyone, let alone the small businesses, even for corporate giants. Yes, right from developed countries to the tiniest islands, the struggles were real. Small businesses worldwide went through hardships to survive the pandemic and uncertain lockdowns.

So, yes, the pandemic was demanding, and the challenges were horrendous. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed at times, but that should not stop us from working towards our business goals. The situation did change now for the better.

As a small business owner, you can also follow the strategies of these successful small companies. Other than those strategies, staying committed and delivering value to your customers can take you a long way in your entrepreneurial journey.

So, all we need is to stay hopeful at any such uncertain crisis and do the needful. By doing so, your small business will not only survive but thrive and flourish in any unfortunate or uncertain situations in the future.