The COVID-19 pandemic has put a major financial strain across all industries; even large companies have been forced to downsize. Given the current state of affairs, it’s easy to see why people might be hesitant to start a business.
In fact, considering that many restaurants have been forced to close and how many people lost their livelihoods, some might even say that it’s a bad idea to start a business in the midst of a pandemic.
Starting a business will always be inherently risky. It’s really a matter of mitigating these risks to ensure that your business has the best chance of success, and sometimes, it means that you need to do a lot of market research to determine your chances of growth. These are some of the market traits that make an online food business a lucrative venture.
4 Reasons That Online Food Business can be a Lucrative Venture:
1. The Increase In Internet Usage
The factor that holds the most weight in determining the feasibility of a business is the fact that people are now forced to use the internet for more than just information and entertainment. Due to the physical distancing protocols that need to be enforced, people are asked to stay at home for their safety.
The increase in internet usage means that people are not only more likely to use online services, they’re also likely to discover new online businesses. This presents an opportunity for rapid growth, especially if you’re able to establish a powerful online presence.
2. Business Foreclosures
Another reason this is a good time to start an online food business is because of the fact that many businesses have been forced to close. This means that you have fewer competitors on the market, and some of these businesses may opt to liquidate their assets, which means that there’s a good chance that you could buy equipment for much cheaper.
3. The Diversity of Skilled Workers
Another factor that contributes to the viability of an online business is that because several businesses have been forced to downsize, there is a wealth of skilled workers that are currently looking for work. You don’t necessarily have to hire them as regular employees, but you can indeed hire them on a per-project basis.
4. New Change, New Opportunity
As with any upheaval, a new situation calls for new solutions. The same is true for the pandemic; even as businesses are no longer able to supply the demand of the market, the needs of the customer base remains. Food is a basic need, and having an online food delivery service that caters to customers in a convenient and safe manner is going to be extremely helpful.
So I want to start a business. Where do I get my funding?
3 Ways to Fund Your New Business
1. Bootstrapping
Bootstrapping is when you fund your business with your own money. This places all of the financial risk on the entrepreneur. Depending on the resources you have and the type of business you want to go, bootstrapping can either be the best or worst funding option for your business. Some people even go as far as to work with Brooklyn home buyers to pool as much money as they can.
2. Business Loan
If you’re either unwilling or unable to fund your own business, you can apply for a bank business loan. While banks have strict application requirements because of the pandemic, they do offer lower amortization rates as a means to help lessen the financial burden on borrowers as well as a means to entice clients to borrow money from them.
3. Business Grant
A business grant refers to money that is given to a business by the government, a company, or a philanthropist. At the very core, grants are free money and entrepreneurs don’t have to pay them back. They are given to small businesses as an aid.
However, business grants aren’t easy to secure. In fact, applicants are screened under much stricter standards and couple this with the fact that there are thousands of applicants at any given time, and this makes securing a grant much more difficult, if not impossible. More often than not, only the business proposals that are likely to grow are given grants.
This pandemic holds a unique characteristic that could make an online food business a lucrative proposition – the fact that more people are reliant on the internet should provide a hint as to why an online business is potentially lucrative.
There is not a single business that does not have inherent risk. We understand that starting a business is a big task and many things can go wrong, but with the economy in the state it’s in, we’re going to need all the economic stimulus we can muster.
