Whether you turn on a television, browse social media, or read daily newspapers, everywhere you will find one same topic: the global outbreak of Coronavirus. For a lot of people, the recently declared pandemic is already changing the way they work. In the coming weeks, months or even years, their life too will take a bizarre turn. Things will no longer remain the same, especially for those who are planning to start their business.
The owners and employees running small businesses are already making difficult choices: whether to stay open and take risks with the health of their personnel and clients or shut doors until everything settles. Most of these businesses are already running with a minimal profit, whereas some have not even seen their first profit. The decision is a tough one, and more dire situations will come.
While we are still wondering about the pandemic's impact on the global economy, one thing is evident: whatever comes next will be unlike anything we have seen before.
Let us dive into how Coronavirus is impacting small businesses.
Distribution of benefits packages
If we have already learned anything from this pandemic is that the strength of a country's public health can be determined by the health of the person with the least resources. As the gap between people with and without the needed resources get bigger, it will be even more challenging to meet each individual's health-care needs. Although Asia and Europe are both struggling with this unfortunate situation, the developing countries could be hit harder, as for the majority of people taking preventative care is out of reach or insignificant.
Many employees rely on their employer-provided health insurance, sick leave, and paid time off to take care of their health and maintain wellness. Major companies like Microsoft and Google are not only capable to tackle this crisis head-on but also offer a competitive package with benefits that keep employee content. Hence, small and medium-sized businesses might need to offer the same or at least of their capability to retain employees.
However, as the outbreak takes even bigger shape, it is still unclear whether the responsibility of providing relief will fall directly upon small businesses or the government. One thing is certain: nobody wants to be left to feel helpless. On the other end, the economic fallout because of this pandemic has been pretty clear around the globe. From NASDAQ to NSE, every stock exchange has witnessed a sharp drop on a daily basis.
Small businesses will notice changes in the way they shop, move, and even do business. Now, we all have to just wait and watch for things to pan out naturally. As someone said once, "This too shall pass".
