Netflix, Microsoft, Disney, FedEx… some of the biggest names in business, right? So, what do they all have in common?
They all started during economic downturns.
There are winners and losers in every situation and, while some businesses have actually made money during Covid-19 due to an increase in demand for their services, or through government-backed grants, there are of course many who have lost out substantially.
An economic downturn does not mean that your business is destined to fail though, and it also does not mean that it’s not still a great time to launch a new one.
We can’t all be a giant corporation, but history had taught us that launching a business of any size during challenging times is not only possible but can actually be advantageous. Why wait until the pandemic is over? Here are four great reasons why now is the ideal time to make your business vision a reality.
- Time is on your side
Bars and restaurants shut, holidays cancelled, major events (and minor events) cancelled – have you ever had so much time on your hands? Are you ever likely to again? How you chose to spend this time can determine what your future will look like. Will you sit on the sofa watching Netflix, or will you learn a new skill, start exercising more or….take the time to plan the launch of your new business?
- It’s good to stay busy
The world can be a scary place during a pandemic and, if you don’t have an outlet, spending too much time worrying about it will be detrimental to your mental health. By all means, stay safe, be sensible and keep up to date with the news for developments, but spending all day glued to the internet, social media or the TV for updates on what is happening isn’t going to help you in the long run. Add to this that you are likely to be spending more time at home during the lockdown period, and you will soon learn that having nothing to fill those extra hours with will leave you dissatisfied and on edge.
- New opportunities thanks to a ‘new normal’
It’s very possible that over the past few months your home office has simply become ‘the office.’ Covid-19 has changed when, where and how we work, and this in itself leads to adaptations and opportunities you might not have considered previously.
Did you assume you needed a physical building to operate in a certain way, but have now discovered you can cope perfectly well from home? Does that then mean that you wouldn’t need as much investment in a new business if you could launch that from home too?
What about other people’s attitudes? Is there something that people need now, that they didn’t previously? Video tutoring? Food delivery? Covid-19 has changed the way people live, as well as how they work, so try tapping into these needs and establishing a business based on those.
- If it’s more like fun, it’s less like work
With more free time, have you finally had an opportunity to focus on your passions and interests? Doing what you love will make any job feel less like work and more like fun, so consider what you have learnt about yourself during the past few months and investigate the ways that your hobby could be applied to a new career.
It would have been very hard to have lived through the Covid-19 pandemic without reflecting on how our lives used to be and how we want them to be moving forward. If this is life’s great reset, think about what you want things to look like when you hit the start button. Do you want to go back to normal, or would you rather take control and start a new life, with a new kind of normal?
This article does not constitute financial advice and should not be construed as such.