Surly starting a business in a looming recession is a bad idea…
Most would agree, but not all.
In 1929, during the worst financial crisis in history, two brothers rebranded their garage-based production studio and introduced America to “Steamboat Willie”.
Mickey Mouse brought smiles to people all over America, during the darkest times the country has ever seen.
You have obviously guessed who I am talking about now.
Yep, that’s right, Disney.
Walt Disney Productions was founded during the height of the great depression and today, almost 100 years later, is a global empire with an estimated net worth of $130 Billion.
And Disney isn’t the only one.
- Burger King
- FedEx
- Microsoft
- General Motors
- Trader Joes
All of these businesses were started during a recession of some sort.
You don’t have to be the next Walt Disney or Steve Jobs to start a business, and you most certainly don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
All you need is a keen eye for spotting problems and the drive to find solutions to said problems.
So Where Are The Opportunities?
-
Consulting/Freelancing
With Coronavirus closing a lot of storefronts, a lot of businesses will be seeking to move online to adapt.
This will present a huge opportunity for consultants and freelancers to help these people out.
- Website Development
- Social Media Marketing
- PPC Advertising
- SEO Services
And many, many more.
Just last year Forbes reported that 57 million people in America had been involved with some sort of freelance work.
A lot of people think to be a consultant/freelancer you have to be an expert in one of the areas mentioned above but that’s not the case.
Learning how to do SEO for any and every business is hard but what about learning how to do SEO for local hairdressers?
That’s a bit simpler.
Not only will it be easier to learn but with each client, you take on in this niche the more of a reputation you could build up for being the authority in your niche.
And if you aren’t an expert in any of these, what’s stopping you from learning?
This leads onto the next business idea.
-
Online Education and Courses.
Nearly everyone is a specialist of some sort and there is a big opportunity to start selling your knowledge.
A lot of people will be seeking to upskill at this time to future proof themselves and their jobs (Or start or consulting/freelancing business).
Market research firm Global Industry Analysts predicts that the online education sector will grow to be worth an estimated $325 billion in 2025.
This will present a huge opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to turn their knowledge into a course.
And the scalability of this is limitless.
There is little to no upfront cost if you are going to do it yourself and once it’s built your job will simply be to promote it.
Websites like Udemy and Skillshare are an excellent place to get this started.
-
E-commerce
A lot of e-commerce businesses have been thriving since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis and those who don’t have an eCommerce channel have been struggling.
Now is a better time than ever to start an e-commerce business as more and more people no longer have a choice but to shop online.
Just last year, e-commerce sales worldwide were estimated at $3.4 Trillion!
That’s a really big pie you could be taking a piece off!
There are plenty of low-cost opportunities surrounding e-commerce such as dropshipping and print on demand to get started.
Check out Shopify or Printful to learn all the ins and outs of starting your own e-commerce brand.
Did you know GymShark started as a print-on-demand business?
And now just last year was named the 2nd fastest-growing privately owned company in the UK with an annual profit growth of 152%!
If not now, when?
If you have been thinking about starting your own business, now is a better time than ever.
Coronavirus isn’t going away anytime soon and without a doubt will change for the way the world works for good.
A lot of people have a lot more spare time on their hands, and it’s the perfect opportunity to get started. Turn your dead time into alive time.
If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone you think needs to see it.
I would love to hear from you if you are planning to start your own business or just recently started during the Coronavirus crisis.
Tell me about it in the comments below!
