Blog: Start a Business Today. Sounds Crazy, Right?
As the COVID Crisis lingers and states and countries struggle to reopen and or have to close again, some would say that this uncertainty is the worst possible condition in which to start a business. WRONG!
Many entrepreneurs are looking at this time as the BEST TIME TO START a business! Why because there are certain unique conditions in today’s market place that don’t exist outside of a crisis. Consider that some of the most powerful and successful companies have been started in times of crisis or financial downturns. General Motors, Disney, HP and Toyota are all examples of companies who took advantage of crisis situations to rise like a phoenix from the ash heap. While operating a business may have gotten a little more complex (depending on the industry), business start-up for most has never been as flexible or lower cost.
Successful entrepreneur, best-selling author, CEO & Founder of ActionCOACH, the world’s largest and most successful business coaching franchise, Brad Sugars outlines his reasons to why now is the best time to start a business in a recent DRIVE TIME Video on his Facebook page. Sugars outlines five reasons why now is the time to get into the business game. He discusses the following;
- Marketplace is shifting quickly
- Cost of doing business is substantially lower
- Marketing is affordable
- Less competition
- Employees are available
The rapid shift to a virtual marketplace has and continues to evolve. Geographic lines are blurred and there is clearly no need for big offices or expensive showrooms. Virtual tours, Webinars and Zoom meetings are the norm. Consumer are accepting a new way to shop, dine and do business more readily and they are more apt to do business with a company that shows innovation and concern for their well-being. Now is the time to create a business that fills the space where many companies unable to adapt have left the playing field. Needs still must to be met. Why can’t it be you, that answers the call consumers call?
Marketing a new business also has become less expensive and more accessible. There was a time that businesses with small budgets couldn’t compete. They had no way to get their message out and if they did, most business owners couldn’t really measure the effectiveness of their spend. They just spent the money and hoped it would bring in more customers. Today, the advent of social media advertising has made it possible for a new business to get their message out for a fraction of what it might have cost even a year ago. Testing and measuring ad effectiveness can happen within a day and your budget can be as low as $1 a day. Facebook Ads, You Tube Ads, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter options provide platforms to reach all types of customers instantly. Segmentation and specific targeting allow you as a business owner to hon on the most ideal audience for your products or services and speak directly to them, cutting through all the noise.
Competitors have dissolved overnight. Any operator on already shaky ground has likely been eliminated by the COVID crisis. Business owners unable to pivot or adjust to new normal conditions have shuttered their operations instead of battling on. That means there is likely space in your competitive set. Time like these call for bold action. Perhaps buying out a competitor may be a strategy to grow and dominate the market.
While unemployment rages due to shutdowns and closures, there is a pool of talent that is there for the asking. With government support ending and further layoffs looming, good candidates are available if you have a need. Offering flexible schedules, work from home options and creative benefit packages can yield a pool of talent to fill your hiring needs.
Eric Ries. author of The Lean Startup, says times of crisis are the best times to consider business ownership.
“That is in part because input factors — the costs required to produce a product or service — are low during a downturn, which is “to an entrepreneur’s advantage,” said Ries. Ries offers three key ideas to help you get started’
- Start with the customer first, drawing on interviews and feedback to get a clear picture of what they want.
- Build a minimum viable product quickly to get your idea out there.
- Test and iterate that product continuously to work through any flaws.
Joining Sugars and Ries is NerdWallet founder Tim Chen. This CEO and co-founder of the now $500 million business, which was also born during the last financial crisis, says he is “weathering the [coronavirus] storm” just like other businesses, but he is still optimistic.” He told CNBC recently, “there’s a real silver lining here,” Chen believes there is opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
He echo’s Sugars’ thought about talent acquisition, cheaper marketing options and less competitors as signs that business ownership now is smart. Chen reminds us that new businesses are often more agile than established organizations. “The advantage that early stage companies have is they’re much more nimble and can move much more quickly and respond to these opportunities better than the incumbents who are now currently trying to lay people off or really worry about the future.”
Opportunity rarely knocks twice and with social distancing, if you wait for that knock, it may be too late. Time to get in the game and become a part of the economic rebound.
