NEW YORK – As the coronavirus pandemic opens up opportunities for some entrepreneurs, the number of Americans who want to start their own businesses is increasing.
There are many reasons why people start businesses. Some lost their jobs during the pandemic, while others made their “side hustle” their main occupation. Others decided to change their priorities and leave the corporate world. Many took advantage of the freedom of working remotely and the lower rents.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2021, there were 5.4 Million applications for business tax identification numbers. This is more than the 2020 peak of 4.4 Million. In 2019, there were 3.5M new business applications. Although the applications do not necessarily indicate that businesses were started, the numbers show that people were still considering starting businesses despite the impact of the virus on the economy. Some economists credit part of the nation’s labor shortage with an increase in those who are self-employed.
These new owners now have to deal with the challenges the pandemic has presented for many businesses, including changing the guidance of health officials, difficulties reaching customers, supply chain snags, and general uncertainty about the future.
Darin Mays, a Minneapolis-based healthcare software executive, was 15 years old when the pandemic struck and the project he was on ended. Mays could have accepted another assignment, but he chose to leave.
He made a table to surround a patio heater while living on his severance. A neighbor soon invited him to a cookout. “Everyone said that this table was great. You should put it on Etsy.” He did, and his first one sold about a week later.
Mays, 38, holds a patent for his table designs. He also sells other woodwork on his Etsy shop, Urban Wing Co. He said that the shop earned six figures in revenue in 2021 and that he is considering expanding.
He said, “The pandemic has, as much it’s been terrible as it’s been, been an opportunity to innovate.”
The rate of entrepreneurship has increased in the past two year is significantly higher than the level seen after the 2008-2009 downturn, which saw weak consumer spending and the effects of the housing bubble on the economy. New business formation also fell.
The government counts people who set up their own businesses as employees, which lowers the unemployment rate. They are not included in the government’s total payroll job count. The number of jobs created each month could be underestimated because more Americans are working for themselves. The Labor Department releases its latest employment report Friday.
Kelly Van Arsdale (32), was inspired to start his own business by a pandemic-related move and a chance stroll past a storefront well-located.
Van Arsdale was working as a freelance web developer in San Francisco at the time of the pandemic. Van Arsdale and his wife moved to Seattle in August 2020 to be closer to their parents and have more space.
Van Arsdale, his brother and their chocolate maker had been making chocolate in the garage of Van Arsdale’s San Francisco home and giving bars to family and friends. He stumbled upon a vacant storefront in North Seattle that was available for chocolate production while he was walking through the neighborhood. He leased the space and built the structure, then founded Spinnaker Chocolate in Oct.
Early customers were his neighbors. It was much more difficult to reach a wider clientele online.
He said that the pandemic has driven a lot of businesses online, and advertising is now more costly than ever. “Overall, spreading awareness about our brand has been the most difficult challenge.”
Emma Gage, 26, a freelance designer, was initially overwhelmed when she lost her job in New York after the coronavirus hit. With pandemic unemployment help and savings, she was soon able to save enough money to launch her own fashion label. Melke is a brand that is gender fluid and uses natural material.
She said, “I had already created a logo and a name for the brand and knew the overall ethos.” “The next step was to source and sew. Because I had the time, why not?
She plans to show the label at New York Fashion Week in February. Shipping snags have been the greatest problem so far.
Gage stated that being a new owner of a business is difficult in general. “I am learning every day that there is a million things that I don’t know.”
The pandemic in New York City took a severe toll on New York City’s restaurant industry. However, it created new opportunities and a lot of work for those who were previously on the margins of the food industry.
Elyssa Heller was a 10 year veteran of the food and drink industry. She was working at a vegan snack business at the time of the pandemic but decided to create her own brand that focuses on Jewish comfort food.
Heller, 32, had initially achieved success in 2020 with a pop-up bagel shop at Paulie Gees’s in Brooklyn. Pop-ups were a popular idea in many states, as the pandemic caused limited seating or closed dining areas.
In March 2021 she opened a sandwich shop, while Edith’s Eatery & Grocery was open in January.
She said that the New York restaurant scene was very exclusive. Before the pandemic, there weren’t many vacancies or affordable rent options. A person like me who didn’t know anyone in the restaurant industry would not normally have the ability to hire the talent that I was able.
These are the biggest challenges facing any restaurant: making diners feel safe, making them feel at ease eating out, and dealing with changing pandemic rules.
She said, “It’s just one day of problem-solving each single day. It’s just new reality.”
