According to Yelp, nearly 100,000 small businesses have permanently shut their doors amidst the pandemic, and recent data suggests that hundreds of thousands of businesses could have collapsed due to coronavirus restrictions and shelter-in-place orders.
If your small business has closed, your entrepreneurial journey doesn’t necessarily need to end here. With these tips from Profit Matters, you’ll learn how to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, stay healthy, and pursue your next great business idea!
Recover From the Loss
According to the Brookings Institution, coping with the loss of your own business is even harder than losing a salaried job. And if you’ve recently closed your small business, you probably know this to be true.
Fortunately, there are some immediate steps you can take to speed up the recovery process. Start by allowing yourself to grieve the loss, and take some time off to pursue other projects before planning your next steps. You’ll also need to work on getting your personal finances in order, but keep in mind you may be able to file for unemployment benefits in some cases. Typically, your eligibility for unemployment will depend on where you live and several other factors.
Be Kind to Yourself
As you recover from the loss of your small business, it’s also important to pay close attention to your physical, mental, and emotional health. Here are a few self-care practices to help you recover from your business closure:
- Catch up on lost sleep (especially if you sacrificed sleep to run your business). Profit Matters can help you recoup some of your time by handling all your accounting and bookkeeping needs!
- Use your skills, make new connections, and do some good by volunteering in the community.
- Enjoy a hobby such as gardening, running, reading, or learning a new language.
- Breathe better for less stress and anxiety.
- Read positive quotes and affirmations.
It’s easier said than done, but try to enjoy your free time as best as possible. You’ll be back to work before you know it!
Start Anew
Your small business may have closed its doors, but your time as an entrepreneur doesn’t need to come to an end. One of the many things entrepreneurs are great at is coming up with successful business ideas, and you are no exception!
As you set off to start a new business, there are a few steps you’ll need to take to get things moving:
- Get Original. First, you’ll need to come up with an original business idea that solves a problem and fits your skills and experiences.
- Let the SBA Be Your Guide. Then, check out the Small Business Association’s guide to starting a business — which includes tips for conducting market research, writing a business plan, and choosing a business structure.
- Form Your Legal Entity. When choosing your business structure, you’ll need to decide between a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company (LLC). LLCs are beneficial for a number of reasons, especially where taxes, personal liability, and management flexibility are concerned.
- Stay Relevant with Fresh Marketing Tactics. When it comes to marketing, think digital marketing via channels like YouTube, Facebook and your website. Make it easier on yourself by utilizing a platform like Adobe to handle your graphics and messaging using, for instance, an Instagram post generator, which allows you to customize posts from templates by uploading photos and creating your own theme.
- Fund Your Venture. It’s also important to look for funding, as various grants and loans are available to small business owners.
Get Back Out There
Losing a business you’ve worked so hard to build is emotionally and financially devastating. But after you’ve given yourself some time to recover from this loss, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t move onto a new business idea. After all, women don’t give up that easily!
Credit: Lance Cody-Valdez
