Month: January 2021

Each year, thousands of people decide they hate their jobs and want to embark on a new journey by starting a business. The trouble is, not all of those individuals end up creating successful enterprises.

Startups fail for various reasons, but one of them is low demand due to economic strife. You’re likely reading this because you want to quit your job and be a small business entrepreneur, but you want to succeed in your new business venture.

Of course, the big question is what type of business you should start that will do well even during times of economic crisis? To answer that question, keep reading to learn more about seven top recession-proof startup business ideas:

#1: Affordable Luxury Products

Some would-be entrepreneurs might assume that no-one has any money to spend during a recession. It might shock you to learn that the opposite is true. Many people will still purchase ‘luxuries’ amid the doom and gloom of an economic crisis.

One way to capitalize on that fact is by setting up a new business selling affordable luxury products. In a nutshell, these aren’t essentials, nor are they ‘expensive’ premium products. Such items are typically mid-level consumer products.

#2: Auto Repair Services

Most consumers have at least one vehicle in their household, especially in rural areas with little to no public transport. Auto repair services are essential because people still need their cars and trucks maintained, and many drivers will seldom know how to do that.

If you’re handy with a spanner and can easily rebuild an engine, you should consider starting a business offering auto repair services. You could even open a franchise in your area, such as Milex Complete Auto Care.

#3: Resume Writing Services

Unemployment will rise during a recession because people get laid off, and businesses shut down due to significant revenue loss. As a result, laid-off workers will immediately look for a new job, and one thing they’ll always need to do is update their resumes.

If you’ve got excellent writing skills and can write content that packs a punch, you could offer a resume writing service. It’s an enterprise you can run from home, and you’ll have virtually no overheads.

#4: Bail Bond Services

Each year, thousands of people get arrested by the police for various reasons. Those individuals will often have legal representation, but one thing they all have in common is the need for freedom.

Many people will often get granted bail but will need to pay the bail amount set by the judge presiding over their case. In those situations, many individuals will typically require a bail bond to secure their release from jail.

You could set up a bail bond company and help those individuals get their freedom back once again. As you can imagine, bail bond services is a niche business that never gets affected by recessions.

It’s relatively straightforward to set up a bail bond services business, and you can even use software like Bailtec to help manage your clients and their payment plans.

#5: Tutoring Services

When a recession hits, many people looking for a new job or getting laid off want to go back to college. They do this because gaining a qualification will give them the edge when they apply for new jobs. Some people will also go to college as they want a new career.

In those scenarios, individuals enrolled in college may want extra help to understand their learning material fully. As such, they’ll often pay for additional tutoring to ensure they have the best possible chance of gaining their new qualifications.

If you’re an expert in a particular field, you could always set up a new business offering tutoring services. You could provide your services face-to-face or via the Internet using video call technology.

#6: Discount Food Store

Everybody has to eat – even during a recession. The trouble is when money’s tight, some people cannot afford to buy their groceries from their usual grocery stores.

A discount food store typically makes a profit by purchasing goods in bulk at low prices and only making a small margin on each item. Their prices are significantly lower than their competitors, and so they’ll always be busy with customers buying lots of cheap food.

#7: Discount Clothing Store

Lastly, people will still buy clothes during a recession as clothing is necessary, much like food. But, consumers will be more selective about where they spend their money, especially if their families suffer a drop in income.

As with discount food stores, you could buy lots of garments cheaply and sell them for a low margin. Discount clothing stores always do well and will even generate more revenue during a recession.

If you are someone who is used to working casual jobs, you might have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has seen many closures of venues and businesses that typically hire casual workers, such as restaurants, cafes, music venues and arts centers. Casual work is ideal for students, those with other part time jobs and artists who are trying to make ends meet. 

Read on to find out how you can find casual work, even during the pandemic.

Look For Industries Thriving Right Now

Although the coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected many industries, some are battling it out against the odds. Companies such as Amazon, that hire people on short rolling contracts, are doubling down on employee hire as their delivery needs have skyrocketed. 

Similarly, online development industries such as tech engineering, content creation, social media management, IT support and web design, are all thriving due to the fact that so many companies have transferred their services online. This is an industry worth taking a look at if you are a gig worker with software expertise.

Sign Up To Online Load Boards

Online load boards are absolutely ideal for casual delivery workers looking for day-to-day projects to take up. If you work as a delivery driver, you can find loads of the appropriate size and distance that instantly pop up on a load dashboard. You can accept the job right away, and off you go!

This is perfect day-to-day work for casual workers with varying flexibility. If you have children, for example, or you attend college, you might not be available for the same number of hours each week. Delivering using load boards is a fantastic way to supplement your income. 

Market Yourself Better

One way to find casual work online is to market yourself better. In a sea of worker profiles on casual work sites, yours must stand out above and beyond the other workers with similar experience to you. How can you achieve better personal marketing? Here are five easy things to do. 

1. Use professional photographs. There’s nothing worse than a blurry selfie on a professional profile. Have some pro photographs taken – or if that’s unavailable, have a friend take high quality shots of you looking presentable. 
2. Expand on your experience. If you have worked as a copywriter, don’t just write ‘Copywriter’ on your resume. Detail the skills required to do so, and any positive feedback you received too!
3. Capitalise on your interesting qualities. A few fun facts about you will never go amiss on a previously-bland worker’s profile!
4. Use social media to your advantage. If you have a particular skill set that is invaluable in a niche industry, make sure you are connecting with others in the industry using social media. 
5. Network, network, network. Even without networking events, you can network online by meeting like minded individuals on forums and job sites. You never know where this connection could lead!

With so many closures going on, it has been a tough time for individuals looking for work. Use this guide to help find casual work during COVID-19.

You may have a brilliant product, but if your customer service is not helpful or if they are not reliable then people will hear about it. You will end up losing customers and this is one thing that you need to avoid. If you want your career to experience long-term success then you need to try and do your bit to ensure that you are putting in the time and effort to satisfy your customers beyond their purchase. You need to provide after-sales support and you will also need to give them the confidence to make another purchase from you.

Know your Product

If you are a customer service agent, then you will most likely spend all of your day troubleshooting the issues that your customers are having. For this reason, you have to make sure that you are an expert in your product.  Your job is to help your customers to make the most out of their product, so make it your goal to know everything there is to know. If you can do this, then you can ensure that you give them timely recommendations and that you also help them to feel more confident in your services. If you want to help your sales even more, then check out https://www.synergistix.com/.

Have a Positive Attitude

Attitude is everything. A positive attitude will go a long way when it comes to providing a fantastic service to your customers. The right attitude will change any negative customer experience into a positive one. Most customer interactions are not face to face, therefore you have to make sure that you are coming across well in your tone. It’s incredibly easy for you to misinterpret the tone of written communication, so don’t be afraid to use emojis when you are trying to incorporate good humour, or even pick up the phone if you find that the conversation is getting stale or tense.

Problem-Solve

Did you know that 80% of customers have gone to a competitor because they experienced a poor customer service? This is why you need to thrive and problem-solve where possible. Don’t be afraid to really blow your customers away. Don’t just fix the issue, go the extra mile to ensure that you are exceeding expectations. Sometimes you will need to be creative here because there may not always be an obvious solution. Either way, the more you can push yourself, the more your customers will appreciate your services overall.

Respond Fast

66% of people think that it’s important for a customer service team to value their time. If you are able to resolve any customer queries as fast as possible then this will give you a solid foundation in which to build upon for the future. Speed is essential and this is especially the case for smaller issues that probably don’t take much time to solve. If you can focus on speed, then you will soon find that you have way more time in the day to deal with other issues and that you are also able to give your customers a way better customer service experience overall.

Teaching is one of the most viable career choices that anyone could ever invest in. However, with the global pandemic taking place and more online opportunities being created than ever before, it’s time to start considering the possibility of teaching online as a viable career choice.

There’s a lot of software that supports online learning for both schools and individuals

One of the great things about teaching online is that you have access to a huge variety of software tools that make it easy for you to teach. There are many types of teaching software for school and hybrid learning and you’ll find that they’re not only easy to use but can actually enhance your lessons in a number of different ways. If you’re concerned about translating your teaching experience to an online-focused approach, then you’ll be glad to know that there are a lot of fantastic software tools to assist you.

There are quite a few job opportunities, but you could also run your own business

A big thing to decide is if you want to work for a company or run your own business. Working for a company typically means that you’ll need to follow their instructions and use the software they do. However, if you find that you work better on your own then there’s always the option of running your own business instead. This means creating your own courses and promoting your own brand. It can be a lot more work, but it can also be more stability and freedom for some people.

However, you’ll need to know how to work social media and get noticed through networking

One of the most important things about learning online is getting noticed on the internet. If you get noticed by people, then you’re far more likely to get new students. You’ll have to work out how to best advertise your services on social media, and you’ll need to get used to engaging people as a form of networking. Social media can be daunting to use for many people, but it’s important if you want to make a career out of teaching online.

Teaching online is a completely different experience than teaching in-person

One of the benefits of becoming an online teacher is that you have lots of unique tools at your disposal to help your students. For example, you get access to a plethora of online-only options such as leaving study materials for your students to work through at their own pace. You also get to create interactive experiences using a variety of different software solutions. There are some fantastic options available to you, but it’s important that you understand the differences between teaching in-person and online in order to get the most from it.

Teaching online is an extremely viable career choice, but it’s important that you understand the major differences between teaching online and in-person if you want to get accustomed to it and adapt your existing experience.