Story by Jodi Samuels
The COVID-19 pandemic has single-handedly leveled the economy by skyrocketing the US unemployment rate to 14.7% as of April 2020. Many businesses have shut their doors in compliance with state and local orders to help fight the infection rate. In doing so, more fears have been created surrounding the recovery journey post COVID-19. Throughout the various state lock downs and stay at home orders, some businesses are focused on a transformation of their business models. To survive the pandemic, they must adapt by using ingenuity and focusing on what is in demand.
A beauty supply store has adapted to supply needs by manufacturing face coverings and selling masks.
|Reinvent: the new business model
Some businesses are turning to putting out entirely new products and changing their industry. Their focus is to stay as relevant as possible in a time of social distancing as it is even more important than ever to utilize some unexplored tools. There can be four appliable steps in reinventing a business: deconstruction, imagination, testing, and prototpes.
An objective here is to still be recognizable to the core customers but have an essential plan of surviving the economy after the pandemic. For the deconstruction phase, the business must recognize if its purpose is as a manufacture or to be the bridge between buyer and seller in the marketplace. The idea is to forecast what challenges the customer might face after the crisis. The second step is to explore the imagination by brainstorming on innovation. An issue of concern would be what products will be the business’ namesake and then to proceed with testing.
The testing phase can utilize surveys to get the feel of the consumer needs. How many of the 50 grandparents surveyed will consider upgrading their current computer monitors for Skype sessions? What data can be gathered to gauge what real issues customers will face and how to improve said product? The final step will be to test the prototype. Advertise the product to that target group with advertisement, samples, and a payment plan if relevant. These small steps can afford a business to redefine for a long-term basis.
COVID-19 many small businesses have been forced to remodel in order to survive.
|The bounce back, surviving COVID-19
“I thought it was going to be the best year ever and then all of a sudden, bam, corona came upon us…”
Andrea Correale founded Elegant Affairs, a catering business, over twenty years ago and found that she had to have re-imagined her business after events dried up almost overnight. She was able to put her staff back to work by focusing on healthy, budget friendly “dinners-to-go” campaign. With most New Yorkers under the stay-at-home order, her focus was to get her business to them. Grocery delivery was added to her list.
“…I put together an entire list of what I could sell to an average household, built a website within 48 hours.”
– Andrea Correale.
On the west coast, Jon Poteet’s restaurant and micro-distillery Shine Distillery & Grill based in Portland, Oregon has also made that transition. Poteet had only been since last summer and has found a way for his business to survive and give back to his community. After the restrictions to take-out and delivery only, he has been using his business to produce eighty percent by volume hand sanitizer.
“I’m a believer in wanting a healthy community. Giving back to the community will always pay off…”
– Jon Poteet.
Not only does donate the product to people and organizations in the community, he has also shared the recipe for his company’s hand sanitizer to about 300 or so distilleries in the US. Profit has also been good where he has brought in more revenue now than before the COVID-19 crisis with a gross of about $6,000 daily.
There will be more demand with the anticipation of a change in the consumption patterns of customers in regard to areas such as health-care, online education, and data security. The anticipation is to meet those needs of the customer by seeking something long-term and going beyond the borders of conventional plans by thinking adaptability for the future.
For more information on the business effort to fight COVID-19:
United Sates Unemployment Rate
Small Businesses Are Reinventing Themselves to Survive the Coronavirus Pandemic
Small Businesses Retool to Make Products Needed for Coronavirus Crisis
Coronavirus Reinventing Businesses
Why Coronavirus Is an Opportunity for Businesses to Reinvent Themselves
Beyond the Fold: Think Something New 