End of year 2020: Small business news during the pandemic

Posted by Andrea Richard In NCE Newsletter 0 comment

In early November, Goldman Sachs surveyed nearly 900 small businesses. They found that four in 10 SMBs laid off employees or cut compensation. The survey also revealed that without another round of government relief, nearly 38% of SMBs responded that they would need to do more cutbacks in pay and staffing. Half of small business owners had stopped paying themselves.

In a 2019 Federal Reserve surveys found that in the event of a two-month revenue loss, 37% of small businesses would respond by reducing salaries (for owners, too), and 33% would lay off employees. Small businesses appear to be responding just as they said they would.

In order to remain open during the pandemic, the majority (92%) of small business owners have pivoted how they do business, including:

Selling on social: 38%
Using a third-party platform: 28%
Introducing curbside pickup: 46%
Offering contactless delivery: 40%

Top ten business people are starting now. Why?

Times are grim for small businesses, but there are more people starting business than before. What are the reasons behind that, and what businesses are people opening during pandemic 2020. Overall, 92% of small business owners have pivoted in these ways according to a Nov, 2020 Forbes article.

Selling on social: 38%
Using a third-party platform: 28%
Introducing curbside pick-up: 46%
Offering contactless delivery: 40%

In addition, half of small business owners had stopped paying themselves. These are trying times but if one keeps a positive attitude and uses their resourcefulness they might be able to stay afloat until more assistance comes or a vaccine is available and we can go back to normal. Many small businesses are simply running out of time and Covid cases are on the rise.

On the flipside, we see new businesses starting at record rates.

The census bureau recorded that new Employee Identification numbers are 27% higher in 2020 compared to 2019. The number of applications from the third quarter of 2020 were the highest since 2005.