For better or worse, the lockdowns have forced businesses to adapt. Some of them never really made it out of the proverbial ‘wilderness’ of the new normal, but most of them did. These lucky few managed to re-open and reestablish themselves as if getting locked down wasn’t the worst thing to happen to them.
It’s worth studying these business models because they’ve managed to turn the worst around in just so short a time. Think of that dryer vent cleaning service company that re-opened as if they’ve closed for only a few days, or that small corner barbershop that still operates, although with new safety protocols. These can be called the few pandemic-proof businesses.
Most of these businesses are small and can be easily started. If running your own business is a skill you want to learn when emerging from the pandemic, here are some businesses that managed to weather the lockdowns.
A Tea Shop that Reinvented Itself
The Mansa Tea Company from New York was enjoying working with Michelin-starred and five-star restaurants before the pandemic hit. They lost all of that overnight, or so it felt to founder Ashley Lim. What they did was to explore the virtual environment and find ways on how to make it work for them, which is something most pandemic-hit businesses do.
The shop thrived on personal interaction, but they managed to also move that to the virtual space, doing virtual workshops on how to brew tea. They’ve also managed to bring back clients from before the pandemic by finding ways to be present while the companies virtually hold meetings and team-building events.
An Events Organizer that Managed Events During Lockdown
When the lockdown started, gatherings were encouraged to be only limited to a few people. For a business like Teambuilding.com, that should spell certain doom. The company prided itself on a passion for hosting team building events for companies as well as helping these companies achieve their employee connection goals.
The company managed to turn around its problems by moving all these events on the Web. They now host “Tiny Campfire” events, where attendees attended a virtual team building event that’s patterned after camping bonfire bonding sessions. Participants also receive s’more kits from the company, which makes the virtual event feel like a true campfire.
Building on Virtual Learning
This company got started because of the pandemic. Zutor is a company that helps connect families with educators who can help their children with their virtual learning difficulties. The idea came from founder Elyssa Katz’ desperation to help her own children deal with their virtual learning sessions. She figured that most parents had the same problems as hers, so she reached out and slowly built her presence online to start the company. She also marketed herself to parents with the same problems as hers, and she not only managed to make money from offering services, but she also helped these parents with their own problems.
Offer an App That Helps with Contact Tracing
Here’s another company that considered the COVID-19 pandemic as a peculiar blessing. App company CareSignal had a great service going — they offered patient monitoring services, but that all went down the drain when the lockdowns started. They were quick to realize that they just needed to realign their service to fit the current situation and app COVID Companion was born. The app is text-based and relays information about location-based outbreak resources. It also hands out CDC guidelines so that communities and patients can be better prepared for the pandemic. Best of all, the service is offered free for use by any health system or payer.
Create A Way to Get Your Clients Do Your Work for You
While that doesn’t sound like a great way to realign, it’s just what app Horderly did to survive. The app – and the service behind it, care of co-owner Fillip Hord — thrived on helping homeowners with their house fixes. Once the lockdown started and people were told to stay at home, they lost their means of livelihood. But some quick thinking on the company’s part managed to save them: they launched a virtual organizing service, where they still helped people organize their stuff at home. This only meant that the homeowners had to do their job for them, but they still provided help packages to get that work done.
For these companies, the COVID-19 lockdowns were just a challenge waiting to be overcome. It also helps to look at the problem and try to find a solution rather than just let the problem bring you down. These businesses managed to see the need that the pandemic created and fill it up.
