The impact that the coronavirus is having on the small business owners is full of uncertainty and pain and it is also staggering and significant. Entrepreneurs are now being forced into drastic steps to keep their businesses operating and they are also scared about the future of their business. A survey of the members of the National Small Business Association stated that 3 out of 4 owners are highly concerned about what the economic impact would be.
Impacts Small Business Owners are Seeing
It has been shown that around 50% of the owners have already seen a reduction in their customer demand and around 38% aren’t at all confident regarding the financial future for their business.
However, there has been some help and rescue that is coming from the local, federal and even state governments along with community efforts. This is one of the ways that the small business owners are managing to keep their business going.
There is also a lot of other things that these business owners are seeing, such as:
- Shift to online purchasing – If you have an online store along with your physical store, then the majority of the orders would be going to the online store. Business banking provider Monzo has a range of guides to help businesses make the transition to online. This is making it much easier for the clients to get what they want without having to leave their home or expose themselves and their family to the virus.
- Assistance – A lot of small business owners aren’t used to having to ask for or even need any type of assistance. However, these days there are plenty of people and ways that they are getting help, including from the government and the community. Those who feel comfortable with going out and buying food are purchasing more from the smaller businesses than the larger ones.
- Lower sales – Also, the owners are seeing a lot less in terms of sales, especially if they only have a physical shop. The lower the sales, then the less money that they are bringing in, which means they can’t afford the day to day needs of the business or even the salaries of their employees.
- Lay offs – Another impact that these smaller businesses are seeing is that they are having to lay off their employees. This is because they aren’t making enough money to keep the business running and they need to be able to have money to take care of everything else. This means that there are more people who are out of work because of this virus.
- Revenue loss – Although a lot of businesses are seeing lower sales it might not mean they are also experiencing revenue loss. There are numerous small business owners who are losing revenue, especially those that don’t have any online stores. Losing revenue is something that all business owners wants to avoid and it can’t be helped during this time. You can opt for SEO Services, that will be suitable to your budget and keep your business alive.
- Bank assistance – Another area where the businesses are seeing a small amount of impact and help is from the banks. These days they are offering various benefits to the small business owners like waived monthly service fees and much more. This will help them in a small way and it is one less thing they have to worry about paying out of their small amount of funds.
- Closures – Some of the small businesses have had to close down their doors, especially if they don’t have enough money to support them through this time. A lot of them are closing down to ensure that they are saving money like those that are non-essential. This would help them to save on rent and even to save up some money that they can use to hire back their employees at a later date.
- Reduced hours – The final impact area where businesses are suffering is the rules based on what they can and can’t do. Not only are most of the restaurants being told to close down for eating in and only allowed take out orders, but they are also restricted on the hours that they can operate.
All of these items have an impact on the small businesses and if you don’t know what they are, then it can make it harder for you to decide which way you should go.
Small businesses are suffering a lot during the lockdown associated with the coronavirus and it might not be evident to everyone. You can see that they are shutting down or the hours are smaller, but did you know that some are having to close down various locations? Not only that, but that they are suffering a huge revenue loss and are even unsure if they will be able to open back up after this?
One should always make sure that they are aware of what small businesses are going through during this time and try to support them as much as possible.
