{"id":3948,"date":"2020-08-30T02:06:18","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T02:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apx.ventures\/?p=3948"},"modified":"2020-08-30T10:14:14","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T10:14:14","slug":"small-businesses-and-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apx.ventures\/2020\/08\/30\/small-businesses-and-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Businesses and COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The world is in the midst of one of the most stunning crises of the last century. At the time of this writing, borders around the world are closing in an effort to cope with the COVID-19 virus taking the globe by storm. Before proceeding with this article: whoever you are, wherever you are, please stay safe, and if possible, stay home.<\/strong><\/p>

In a short period of time, the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has rattled the global economy almost as hard as the 2008 recession – and this might be just the beginning. The global financial markets have nosedived, losing nearly a 3rd of their value in the 2 weeks since lockdowns began to ravage the Western markets.<\/p>

Oil prices have dipped below the $30 threshold many fiscal economists see as a crisis tipping point, the biggest drop since the gulf war. In fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted<\/a> the first drop in global oil demand since the recession.<\/p>

No industry has seen a larger shock to the system than Tourism, however, which had lost a whopping $113 billion<\/a><\/span> before the recent travel bans were even announced. <\/em>Airliners like British Airways are cutting as much as 75% of their flying capacity, with some airlines threatening insolvency and requesting bailouts.<\/p>

As dramatic as this virus has been on the macroeconomy, larger businesses ultimately have cash reserves to stomach periods of lost revenues. The real casualties to COVID-19, unfortunately, are small businesses and their employees.<\/p>

The US is set to see an unprecedented 700 percent one week rise in layoffs<\/u><\/a>. Several leading banks are forecasting skyrocketing<\/span><\/a> small business bankruptcies in the coming weeks and months to bring unemployment levels to a place not seen in half a century. Similar projections in Canada has led to a desperate government offering payroll relief<\/a><\/span> for businesses to stay solvent and keep their staff intact. 60% of small businesses in a recent survey said they\u2019ve lost more than half their resume since the pandemic began.<\/p>

So what can small businesses do to survive (and possibly thrive) during this crisis? The first step is to take a deep breath. China recently marked it\u2019s first day with any new infections. Other asian countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have curtailed infections down as well as normal life is gradually beginning to resume.<\/p>

In other words: this crisis is solvable.<\/p>

Beyond that, the crisis does present an opportunity for small businesses to adapt and adjust. Perhaps the single biggest global change as a result of this crisis is the shift towards a more online world. COVID-19 has forced millions of organizations to rapidly transition towards a remote workforce. From companies like Microsoft to Twitter, companies big and small<\/span><\/a> are adjusting towards a more remote, online setup.<\/p>

While it\u2019s certainly been a catalyzing function, the virus has only accelerated a process that\u2019s been nearly 10 years in the making. A study<\/a><\/span> observing data between the years 2005 and 2019 summarized some of the trends as follows (numbers not updated post-COVID, of course):<\/p>