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The impact of Covid-19 will be on small business

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As a note to the community – the survey with results was sent to the admin team this morning my time.

Yesterday was the holiday Cinco De Mayo. It is not a US holiday, although many places in the US celebrate the day. It is a celebration from Mexico. One of the things that a friend of mine always does and has done for many years on the 5th of may is he sends all of us a Newsletter type email. In that email, he talks about the year that was. He like I celebrated the marriage of a daughter last year. But for him, this year has been a little tighter. His job (he does contract work. You are contracted to provide a service for some time for a company) was supposed to end the second week of February. The customer asked him to stay on two extra weeks. So he postponed another customer until March.

Except with March, the customer pushed the job off until May. (Now June). My friend, for the first time in his life, was unemployed. He is a part of the new “gig” economy as it is called. Where the person works for themselves and contracts with companies for some time. Then he moves on to the net job, and the economy keeps rolling. Except with the global lockdown, my friend is suddenly unemployed. He told, in his annual letter, the horrors of applying for unemployment. The US in January had a meager unemployment rate that has gone by to nearly 18% of the people now filing for unemployment. One of the agonies of the economic impact of a global pandemic.

That did get me thinking. I have done contract work a couple of times in my career. You make more money without a doubt when you do the gig economy. But you don’t have security. There is a security in having someone else pay you a salary or hourly rate, that when you are working for yourself, you don’t get. My friend and I had a long thread of emails last night. What we were discussing is the impact of the pandemic on small businesses. He is a small business. For him, he feels that the economy may pick up by late summer, but most likely, he will have to cut his rates to land the same gigs he has been landing for years. That reduced rate for him means less money, and there will be a direct impact on his family.

The sad reality of the pandemic is the impact on small businesses.

  • Question of

    Do you shop small or local businesses when possible?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Do you know someone working in the new gig economy?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Do you worry about the economy of where you live?

    • Yes
    • No

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Written by DocAndersen

One fan, One team and a long time dream Go Cubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

56 Comments

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  3. We were worried about big corp taking over all small businesses. Now it is done. What will be left of the small businesses, most will not survive. I’ve said this from the beginning, the snow ball is getting bigger with every inch it rolls, and we don’t know how tall that hill is that its coming from, shrouded in clouds as it is.

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  4. In my opinion, governments should also focus money on small-scale production. This will put an end to the numerous unemployment that is expected. Big companies have reserves, and some of them have not even stopped functioning. Tourism will be most affected here. This year will rely only on domestic.

    1

  5. This covid 19 has shut down many small businesses in NZ especially in the tourism industry. We are soon moving into lockdown 2 now, which means we can travel our own country and small businesses, public places and shops will be open with some restrictions.

    2

  6. The impact will be everywhere. For instance, airplanes companies, and many of them are big, are going to suffer a lot. 2020 is going to be a catastrophic year for the job market and the economies of the whole world. And It can be worse as if it is predicted, coronavirus comes back in Autumn and winter. A very sad reality.

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    • i think big business will survive. In the US, they got a massive amount of money. What I suspect will happen – large global airlines will consolidate. Those with government backing will end up buying others.

      Money exists, and will flow, the question is who in the end owns the money. Small business is going to struggle for a while.

  8. Q: DO YOU SHOP SMALL OR LOCAL BUSINESSES WHEN POSSIBLE?
    Yes (5 votes) – 83%
    No (1 votes) – 17%
    Q: DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WORKING IN THE NEW GIG ECONOMY?
    Yes (4 votes) – 80%
    No (1 votes) – 20%
    Q: DO YOU WORRY ABOUT THE ECONOMY OF WHERE YOU LIVE?
    Yes (6 votes) – 100%

    1

  9. I’ll give you three situations here
    Actually where I live only small shops are allowed to stay open all huge supermarkets are closed.
    Earlier I used to write for a couple of clients, but now I have no job, they don’t have the paying power at the moment.
    My plumber called me yesterday and was begging me to give him some work. This maybe true of people who do some small maintenance jobs.

    2

      • I am okay, I have been facing this since the end of 2019 with many writing sites closing down and becoming no pay.
        I don’t depend on this for my lively hood. It is mainly savings for me.

        2

        • I am glad to hear you are ok. It is an interesting problem right now that the virus has exacerbated.

          the ebbs and flows of the gig economy.

          i worry that we will not see the end of the crisis for many, because the last part of the economy to move is that portion that is the gig economy.

          1

  12. The pandemic will have consequences for all businesses. The worst is really for small businesses. There are many small businesses in our country and many of these have already closed. They see no way out of this situation.

    2

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