Analysts say COVID-19 has created a climate for businesses to flourish if they can distinguish themselves.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — First there was taco night, then barbecue sandwiches, followed by meats by the pound – all splashy marketing events to generate buzz leading up to Proof BBQ’s grand opening in the Cleveland suburbs. And then came coronavirus. Michael Griffin already had success with a popular pizza joint in the area and was following it up with Proof BBQ, which was slated to open in March, just as most restaurants and much of the nation were shutting down amid the pandemic. “You’re going, going 100 miles an hour. You’re testing out sauces and you’re testing out the meat,” Griffin said. “We just lost all that buzz we had from that February-March push.” The odds of success with a new business are always precarious – few expect to turn a profit in the first year or two. Add the challenges of a devastated economy and constantly changing rules for operating in a pandemic, and survival is even tougher. Across the U.S., it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of small businesses have closed. Despite that, some new businesses like Griffin’s are forging ahead with openings or expansions in 2020, finding ways to make it work amid unprecedented uncertainty. Griffin pivoted to takeout, creating a condensed, family-style menu, and expanded Proof’s outdoor patio. They limped along for a few months, but as cases spiked in July and the city’s bars were put on a 10 p.m. curfew, he closed up shop. Proof re-opened last month to a steady crowd after eight weeks of being shuttered, serving takeout pizza on one side and barbecue on the other. Despite the challenges, some analysts say the pandemic has created a climate for businesses to flourish if they can distinguish themselves. Interest rates for loans are lower, along with lease prices. There’s less competition to borrow startup capital and, more than ever, there’s a cachet to being the shiny new thing on the block during a humdrum period when people are stuck at home. “For all the small business that aren’t open, if you can open, that just makes you more powerful,” said Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst for trend group NPD. And prospective entrepreneurs are still at least thinking about starting businesses, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The number of applications for business tax identification numbers was down more than a third at the end of March compared to year-earlier levels; in the week that ended Oct.
