ARTICLE
Building a Startup During A Recession
Topics: business resilience, entrepreneurship, franchise opportunities, recession business, startup
Having been tightly held by the hand due to the emergence of COVID19 has brought so many people into thinking if we are ever going to survive this. The tough-thinking and risk-taking entrepreneur would naturally say that life goes on and we cannot just sit down and wait for a miracle to happen before we start to do something. The pessimist would say, “The whole world has been affected. Will we overcome the financial and emotional turmoil that COVID19 has created?”
Everything happens for a reason. And most of the time, we are left staring blankly, deeply thinking of the why’s and how’s. However, we should not burden ourselves thinking negatively every time we stumble. Instead of sulking in a corner and feeling sorry for what happened to us, we must strengthen ourselves and think of possible solutions so that we can still enjoy life.
How do you build a startup during a recession?
Is it possible to start a business when other existing businesses are put into halt because of an economic threat such as COVID19? My answer to that is a resounding YES. Why? Because I believe, as the common Filipino saying. “habang may buhay, may pagasa”. We are capable of rebuilding our lives and need to take advantage of every opportunity there is no matter what it takes — for our family.
When a catastrophe or a crisis happens in our lives, we need to sit down, think, and ask ourselves what is really happening. We need to take everything in the right perspective and realize that these challenges that we are facing are usually a kind of wake-up call. No matter how challenging or complicated the circumstances are, we need to trust that these changes can ultimately give us benefit. Just like how most of the people’s reactions when the president announced that the whole National Capital Region would be under community quarantine, most people focused on how they would be able to sustain for the needs of their families. While I understand their sentiments, the positive effect of having the community quarantine was not just to help contain the virus, but it has also allowed people to spend more time with their families, people have become more aware of how to be more health-conscious, and most importantly, the world has slowly healed itself from pollution.
This situation has forced us to plunge into a “new normal” which means we need to accept change and realize that we need to see that a different way of living is possible, thus gradually, we are able to rebuild ourselves with a better understanding.
For those entrepreneurs who may have lost a lot because of the complete closure of their businesses, some of them have created a new kind of business that would enable them to help not only themselves, but as well as others. Ricel Veneracion started a franchised salon business in 2016. She has been very successful with her salon business that she opened a new lash salon after 3 years. With the success of the lash salon, she thought of branching out the business. However, when COVID19 emerged and the city was placed under community quarantine, she had no choice but to close the business. But it did not stop her from looking for possibilities. She also has other franchised food business but thought of a clever way of how a very popular Korean food can still be enjoyed by everyone at home. Starting Go Grill Samgyupsal at home was quite a plunge because she was really unsure if it would be a great business and that it would be tiring to prepare all the food per order since it is composed of a lot of side dishes which she cooks herself. Luckily, she has 2 other sets of hands to help her. From her capital of Php100k, she was earning, Php60k a day. The ROI was just in 2 days! She was truly overwhelmed at how many people were enjoying samgyupsal with their families at home.
Her story is indeed inspiring because from her other businesses which cost millions to build and months before she could see the return of investment, with just small capital, she was able to become successful with her new business in just a matter of days. The stories that entrepreneurs have are truly remarkable especially how the millennial entrepreneurs are striving to make it big in their respective industries.
Why is it a great time to launch a startup during a recession?
Not everyone would have seen the possibilities, but truly, when starting a business during a recession, this would mean being able to hire more capable employees since these people used to be highly-paid individuals, which means that their skills are great. Therefore, these individuals are unlikely to become choosy with regards to the kind of job being offered to them. Thus, you will not be worried about having to pay as much. Not that you are being stingy, but you also need to consider other factors like the utilities, the cost of your products, etc.
In choosing the products to offer, the nice-to-haves are replaced with must-haves. This means, buying pretty things are not the priority of the people. Therefore, products that people truly need should be where you should focus on. Here are other reasons:
- It is likely that you will start at home, which means lesser employees, minimal overhead.
- Supplies and materials are cost-effective.
- Less competition.
- Since you probably initiated the business during the recession, it is likely that you get a good start over others.
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You may contact Armando”Butz” Bartolome for questions and more information.
Email: [email protected]