Starting a business is always a challenging venture, but the current pandemic has made the task even more difficult. The economic downturn, stay-at-home orders, and constantly changing public health measures aren’t making things easy on you. 

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However, it isn’t impossible to start a business right now. With the right idea and the right business plan, your new company may even thrive during this global pandemic. 

Solve a Need

The economy is currently struggling all over the world, and many businesses are going under right now. If you’re going to start a business during COVID-19, make sure you’re solving a real and relevant need. 

Consumer habits have changed significantly, so what you offer should fit into their new lifestyles so that your business is COVID-proof. For example, you might not want to invest in starting a gym, but starting a virtual yoga class may be a better idea. 

Understand Which Industries Are Thriving Right Now 

While some sectors like the airline industry, restaurants, and bars are having a difficult time financially right now, other types of businesses are not only surviving but thriving. They might give you some inspiration as to which type of business you should start right now. 

Businesses that are thriving during the pandemic include:

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• Delivery services, particularly for food, groceries, and retail
  Professional cleaning services for homes, offices, and restaurants
  Landscaping services
  Renovation services
  PPE equipment makers
  Virtual event and meeting services
  Online classes and entertainment, including cooking classes and fitness classes
  Telehealth services
•  

Start a Digital Business

Going off that last point, if at all possible, start a digital business to help ensure your company’s survival. With COVID-19 public health measures constantly changing, now is not the right time to be renting office space, having employees come into an office or workplace, or expecting customers to shop in store. 

Office digital appointments or consultations if you’re offering services. For product sales, you should offer shipping and delivery as an alternative to in-store shopping. 

Hire Internationally

More people than ever before have created their own home offices and adapted to working from home during the pandemic. For this reason, you may not have to limit yourself to hiring talent close to home. There are talented individuals in a wide range of industries all over the world, and searching outside your locale can help you hire the best of the best. If you’re hiring employees, working with an international professional employer organization (PEO) can make it easy to hire and manage international employees.

With a PEO by your side, you won’t need to spend months setting up a business entity in another country before you can hire and pay a new employee there. You won’t need to keep up with employment laws or compliance requirements in that country either. The PEO will take care of all the paperwork, the administrative work, HR, payroll, and more for you.

Be Adaptable

Perhaps the most important advice we could offer for entrepreneurs is to be adaptable and flexible. As public health advice and measures change, so too do consumer habits and lifestyles. The business landscape may change drastically in a few months, and you’ll want to ensure you have a flexible, recession-proof business plan to adapt and pivot as needed to survive.