Source: newyork.citybizlist.com
Back in March 2020, when the whole world was stuck at home with nothing to do, many people decided to put there time back into creativity. Before the pandemic, many consumed their whole lives with working, only using their time off to do tasks that they did not have time for during the workweek. However, the pandemic gave people back something that had not had for many years: an abundance of free time. This allowed them to return to activities that brought them joy, not just what they needed to do to get through the week. Many of them discovered that what they can make might be of interest to others, and thus the online small business boom of 2020 began.
They flooded apps like Tiktok and Youtube with content showcasing their creations, with many blowing up on these platforms and getting an abundance of orders. However, this also led to an oversaturation of similar types of products on the market. There were also people who jumped at the opportunity to buy cheap products and resell them at a higher price, throwing in some candy or a couple stickers to make the customer forget that they essentially just spent $10 for something that is sold at the dollar store. Packaging became a big deal. Having cute bubble mailers stuffed with freebees made people more likely to buy the product. It seemed like anyone and everyone jumped onto the small business train. Though I support people doing something they are passionate about, I have to wonder if these small businesses are going to continue to thrive once the pandemic ends and people return to work. The sellers are going to go back to their busy lives where they do not have the time to create and the buyers are also going to go back to their normal lives, making them less likely to see videos talking about small businesses. In addition to this, they will be going out to stores more and spending their money elsewhere. So, what are the issues with quarantine small businesses and will they survive a post-pandemic world?
Source: poshmark.com
Problems with Certain Small Businesses
Though many people are doing wonderful and creative things with their online small businesses, there are some issues with others. Because success stories are what tends to go viral, it puts hope into everyone that they can easily make money from selling things online. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Often times, hundreds of dollars are put into starting an online business, and it takes years to get the money for supplies back, if they ever do at all. Quick little videos on the internet do not talk about the struggle that comes with starting a business. They also do not talk about the legal aspects of having your own business. Many people that I see talking about wanting to start selling on Etsy, Poshmark, Depop, or any place where you can buy online, are young. Many of them do not have the funds or knowledge to begin their own business, but Tiktok and Youtube make it look so easy.
Another issue with a current type of small business is resellers. This is when people go to thrift stores, swap meets, yards sales, or discount stores, and buy items that they can resell at a higher prices. This has been around for years, but recently has become more popular. Over the past 3 years, I have seen the prices at my local thrift stores increase considerably as the popularity of reselling has gone up. What used to be a fun way to buy clothes for cheap is now just paying almost full price for picked through clothing. This isn't necessarily a problem for everyone, however many people shop at thrift stores because it is all they can afford. It is getting harder for them to get good quality clothes for a price they can manage. This is not the only issue, I have a friend who runs a clothing resell account on Instragram, and she has piles and piles of clothes, probably about 100+ articles of clothing, that she can not get rid of. She will sell them on her account for as little as $1, but nobody wants them. So, these will either get donated back or tossed in the trash. Not only is she out the money for buying the clothes that she can not sell, but they are just sitting there when other people might have got them had they seen them at the thrift store.
Lastly, as I briefly mentioned at the beginning of this post, there has also been an uptick of people buying things for cheap on websites like AliExpress and sell them for a higher prices and claiming them as their own. If it has cute packaging, people will buy it, but that does not mean that these products are good quality or worth the prices they are paying. Even with all the extra "freebies" that get thrown in, a lot of times it is just junk that the buyer is going to throw out anyway. This also contributes to the amount of waste that a package makes.
So, these are some of the problems with quarantine small businesses, but will they last post covid?
Source: theroanokestar.com
Obviously, some of these small businesses are going to succeed. Some have become so popular that it has allowed the owner to quit their other job and focus on this business as their sole form of income. However, there are going to be a lot of small businesses that are going to be left in the dust. As stated above, people will go back to work and have less time to create or shop. People will have more time to go to stores themselves and buy similar items that they might've shopped for online during the past year.
Etsy is always going to help people create things they love and deliver it to customers who are excited to have handmade items. I'd be lying if I did not say that Etsy is the first place I go to for unique presents for Christmas or Valentine's Day. But the market is too saturated. People with established businesses are the ones who are going to get more orders and the new entrepreneurs are going to see less and less people interested in their products. Viral videos are going to shift to something else and the small businesses that became popular during the pandemic are going to be a thing of the past. There are ways for people to grow with a growing and evolving climate, but it will be hard for those with a day job to keep up. It is sad, but it is the truth. I only hope that people who enjoy their creative outlets will continue to find time in the day to explore these and find joy in them, even if others do not.
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