How did they recover?
Photo by Syda Productions
Covid-19 first hit the UK in January 2020, by April, small business owners estimated a sales fall of 30%. This was during the UKs first country- wide lockdown.
Since, sales have reportedly gradually improved. Including further blips throughout 2021 due to restrictions.
Many businesses throughout the UK closed their doors in March 2020, many postponed their business ventures. Owner of Leeds Food Tours, Ellen Miller said :
“ I founded my business in October 2019 and I absolutely experienced hardships when Covid hit. My business had to stop operating completely as I was unable to run any food tours”
“As the business was very new I couldn’t claim any government help of funding whatso ever”
Ellen experienced negative impacts due to covid for 2 years. Recovering her business by adapting it. She started offering self-guided tours once restaurants opened up for housholds. “I had to build my business back up very slowly to recover, so I treated it almost as a new business again.”
In 2020, business deaths amounted to 332,620 according to the Office of National Statistics.
The economy was severely affected by covid as the decline in Gross Domestic Product decreased by 9.9% in 2020.
After knowing the hardships of owning a business, this didn’t stop people opening businesses. In 2022 the Uks registered businesses increased by 3.5% from 2021. This includes Shivani of ‘Mani.kaur Nails and Beauty’.
She said “ My biggest hardship was trying to market my business and gain clientele, I overcame this by using various marketing strategies and offering special offers.”
Local companies and small businesses are still trying to recover from the carnage that Covid-19 has caused.
The current cost of living provides an excellent example as to why businesses are struggling as well as the general public. Prices of consumer goods and services have dramatically inclined.
Covid is not only to blame for this economic crises, but the Russia invasion of Ukraine and Brexit is also.
As some businesses recover from Covid, there are many owners who have experienced a loss of business and income due to the epidemic and everything surrounding it.