One of the things that concern too many people is the issue of the economic situation in the aftermath. You see, people who make the general workforce aren’t in the age group that is considered the riskiest. This means that they worry the most about two issues – their loved ones who are in danger and their future once the economic repercussions of the pandemic and the quarantine become present.
While some are scared senseless others are already devising plans for the future. Instead of being left to the mercy of the job market, they plan to start their own businesses. Here are nine ideas that might become viable once the dust has settled.
1. Starting a blog
While some doomsayers prophesize a complete economic collapse in the nearest future, the truth is that even amidst a crisis of these proportions, there is a silver lining. For instance, people who run blogs or create content for different platforms (YouTube, TikTok, etc.) have noticed that people consume more content than ever before. They are confined in their homes and bored senseless, which makes them crave new forms and formats of content. Some of them are branching out their interests and expanding the number of categories that they avidly follow. This means that even the potential audience pool grows.
Now, one question that the majority of people are interested in is – how do blogs make money, to begin with. Well, there are many different ways, ranging from selling private ads, including affiliate links into their content, selling digital products or selling membership. Now, more monetization means more money but if you push this too far, you risk losing credibility and even being labelled as a sellout by your audience. So, try to promote only those partners that belong to your industry in order to keep your content organic. Other than this, try to provide your audience with value and not just shamelessly promote your partners.
2. Online courses
Another branch that is on the rise is – online tutoring. Why? People spend more time at home and have more time to dedicate themselves to self-improvement. For this very reason, the demand for online tutors is higher than ever before. Nowadays, when the majority of companies are laying off employees, the majority of online tutoring agencies are hiring part-time employees. After all, this is one of the activities that is allowed even for those in self-isolation.
One of the problems that people see here is the fact that there are numerous agencies that are currently offering free courses, some of which are near the very top of the field. The reason why this is so important is due to the fact that this may lower your competitiveness a bit. Still, similarly to the issue with content and increase in demand, you can offer some free courses yourself in order to gain some favours in the local community and attract first-time learners. From this point on, you can gradually grow your business.
3. Creative work
This is also a great time to dedicate yourself to your passion, regardless if it’s writing, photography or music that we’re talking about. Self-isolation gives you free time that you never had and you also get the privilege of developing your business while doing the right thing. Otherwise, staying at home on such a beautiful day might have evoked a degree of guilt. Now, however, all you need to do is find your inspiration and let your creativity express itself. Just remember that even a passion requires a lot of hard work before it starts yielding some returns.
Ok, now you’ve created some of this work so, how do you proceed to capitalize on it. Well, being a self-publishing artist was never easier than today. Let’s say that you want to write your own novels or short stories. The simplest way to make money on them would be to publish your work on the Amazon Direct Kindle Publishing platform. The best thing here lies in the fact that there’s a similar platform for virtually every medium out there. You have specialized platforms for your music or your photography (some of which even specialize in smartphone photography in order to level the field for everyone.)
4. Tea brewery
Starting your own tea brewery is an amazing idea that you can capitalize on right away and then expand once the crisis is over. You see, there are so many delivery services from different fields and brewing your own hot beverages in order to deliver them to one’s home address is both a noble cause and a lucrative idea. The best thing about this is the fact that you can start right away even with limited funds. One of the best ways to provide yourself with a head start is to not start from scratch and buy a franchise instead. This way, you also gain some much-needed logistical support.
Once the quarantine is over, people will be more than nostalgic towards social gatherings of all sorts, which should react in all the tea and coffee places being full most of the time, at least for a while. This can be an amazing opportunity to start your own brick and mortar establishment and turn all your customers into visitors. Needless to say, where you proceed from here depends both on your aspirations and on the franchise that you decide to do business with.
5. Business consulting
As you can probably notice from this list, there are a lot of business options that can be experimented with during the epidemic or shortly after it. Now, seeing as how the unfortunate turn of event will ensure that some people are left jobless, a lot of them might try their luck as entrepreneurs, rather than struggling on the job market. So, why not turn this into your own business idea. After all, the goal of helping others restart their businesses is more than a noble affair. Add to this the fact that it’s also quite lucrative and what you’ll get is a winning combination.
For this to work, you need to understand the rules of the market, as well as the usual progression of a young enterprise. For instance, about 42 per cent of all startups fail due to the fact that there’s no market need for them. This is why the first thing you need to learn is how to do proper market research. Second, you need to improve your communication skills and develop a basic understanding of accounting, branding and marketing. Naturally, you don’t have to handle all of these issues on your own but it would help if you were to develop a network of contacts that are capable of handling this issue.
6. Marketing
There are also a lot of misconceptions when it comes to what all of this means for your business. You see, a lot of people interpret that lower purchasing power means fewer sales and greater competitiveness but they fail to grasp how this will translate to various fields within the industry. For instance, when it comes to marketing, the majority of companies base their marketing budget on their average annual revenue (10 or 20 percent of it), which means that their investment in marketing will be somewhat lower. Still, not everything is black and white.
You see, due to the fact that an average consumer will have less money, they will, more often than not, be forced to spend it all in one place and prioritize during their purchases. This means that instead of making several purchases with several vendors, they will have to choose one to do business with. In this scenario, it is more than clear that businesses with better marketing have better odds of making it. In other words, marketing still remains a priority (perhaps even greater one than it ever was). This is why there’s definitely money to be made in this field.
7. Housesitting
As soon as this is over, people will want to travel in order to make up for the lost time. This means leaving their home behind. Needless to say, this also means that the demand for reliable house sitters will grow by quite the margin. Now, it is a fair presumption to assume that this is one of those part-time jobs that a lot of people will look up to while on the job market, however, just how trustworthy is a complete stranger with no previous record in this industry? This is why becoming a professional house sitter or even starting your own housesitting agency is definitely a good idea.
This, on the other hand, raises another question – what makes a good house sitter? First of all, there is no universal formula for how you should behave in this situation – this is something that you have to consult the homeowner about. Remembering (and writing down) and abiding by these instructions is the first skill you need. Keep in mind that there are some homeowners who will ask you to follow impossible or ridiculous instructions that you just can’t keep up with. In the long run, it’s far better to outright refuse these people, rather than to earn penalties, negative reviews and more.
8. Event industry
At the moment, all the events are postponed in a lot of countries, seeing as how they would involve mass gatherings. Once the crisis is over, a lot of these events would have to be rescheduled and organized. This makes for a lot of work in the event industry that someone will have to take on. Now, just because this crisis may be over in a matter of weeks or months, this doesn’t mean that we will be in quarantine one day and then be able to have a wedding with 500 attendees.
Who knows when things will be back to normal but this may also give you time to hone your skills. Do some research, exploit some of the above-listed free courses (and pay for others) and start gathering your resources. Keeping up with the industry in question is a terribly underestimated issue and it’s a mistake that you can’t afford to make. On various industry-related forums, you can even get in touch with people who are to become your network of contacts. Outreach is incredibly important and now at least, people have time to get to know each other.
9. Personal fitness training
Finally, even though this isolation is a perfect opportunity for people to drop their binge eating habits, forfeit fast food and make a step towards a healthier life, the truth is that the majority of people are not going to do so. If anything, they will eat out of boredom and restrict their movement to a minimum, which will result in them gaining more weight and being even more out of shape by the end of the quarantine. This is why the services of a personal fitness trainer will be more in demand than ever, especially as the next summer season starts drawing closer.
Now, helping people get in shape is a complex thing. First, you need to ensure that you know how to create a program that they’ll be able to keep up with and to gradually increase the intensity. Second, you’ll have to learn a thing or two about nutrition, seeing as how no one can outrun a bad diet. Third, you need to figure out how to keep them motivated. A great personal trainer is a workout buddy, motivational speaker and a life coach all in one.
In conclusion
Sure, a lot of these businesses you may not be able to launch until the quarantine is over, however, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start planning and laying down the groundwork right away. Keep in mind that writing a business plan, getting in touch with the right people and making financial projections take time. It’s far better to have all of this prepared by the time that you’re able to spring into action. If you also need to acquire some new skills or home new traits, this all might take even longer than expected. All in all, it’s never too early to start planning.