Logically, it makes sense that entrepreneurship declines in times of uncertainty, recessions, and global pandemics. More people are struggling to make ends meet and striking out when so much is up in the air seems especially risky.
However, research done on recent economic downturns suggests that economic uncertainty isn’t necessarily a bad thing for entrepreneurs. In fact, some of the biggest names in business were founded during a recession or bear market. Disney was launched at the beginning of the Great Depression, Trader Joe’s made its debut during the Recession of 1958, and Salesforce launched right before the dot-com bubble burst. Now, these companies are each worth billions of dollars and still going strong.
What does this mean for all of the prospective entrepreneurs out there? Simply put, business ventures shouldn’t be dictated by timing. Starting a business in the middle of a recession or global pandemic might sound nuts, but no-code (and a dash of optimism) can help make it happen.
Becoming an entrepreneur during uncertain times can actually drive positive business outcomes
Why Start a Business in Uncertain Times?
How did Disney, Salesforce, and other Fortune 500 companies find success in times of financial uncertainty? What’s their secret? According to a study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, recessions and bear markets can be incredibly stressful for new business owners and often lead to short-term declines—but they don’t have a significantly negative impact on the survival of new businesses. In fact, becoming an entrepreneur during uncertain times can actually drive positive business outcomes in three key ways.
-
Opportunities for market disruption: Consider the birth of Airbnb and Uber in 2008, during one of the world’s worst financial crises. These companies disrupted existing business models by giving people access to new revenue streams as the gig economy was just beginning. If you have a good idea and act fast, you can get ahead of the curve—and stay there.
-
Less competition: In uncertain times, it’s common for enterprise leaders to fall victim to the “Croods” mentality, where the safety of the status quo is more appealing than taking a leap of faith. While your competitors are hunkering down to ride out the storm, your small business might have an opportunity to charge ahead and carve out a groundbreaking path.
-
Encouraging innovation: When the economy is stable, it may actually tamp down innovation because companies grow complacent. When old business models and operating methods no longer work due to unprecedented times, just a little bit of that pressure can inspire you to come up with something totally new. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.
The Uncertain Times We Face Today
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, these findings are particularly relevant. COVID-19 has already devastated the United States economy and leftover 40 million Americans out of work, which sounds like a less than ideal time to start a business. However, a financial research company studying the market effects of COVID-19 has found that while the value of many companies has decreased dramatically, companies with an edge in the remote or ”work from home” space are thriving. In unusual times, companies like Atlassian, Zoom, Teladoc, and Peloton are experiencing unprecedented growth.
Watch the replay of our webinar “Why Learning to Build Is More Important Than Learning to Code.”
This highlights a key difference between our current coronavirus-related recession and previous economic recessions. Not only is there a need for more revenue, but there’s also a need for digital tools that enable remote opportunities. Applications that help businesses accommodate social distancing mandates and stay-at-home orders will be in a unique position for growth. The real barrier to entry, then, is not necessarily the recession itself, but the coding skills traditionally necessary to build applications and other digital tools.
How No-Code Enables Digital Entrepreneurship
In a recent article titled “These Tools Will Be the Secret to Fueling Our Economy’s Recovery,” the founder of TaskRabbit Leah Solivan argues that no-code tools are exactly what our economy needs right now. She believes that COVID-19-related business closures are a wake-up call for industries relying on old models of employment and that more Americans than ever before will begin taking charge of their own earning potential.
The good news is that the internet has already democratized the way the world does business, and most would agree that building a business these days involves bringing your skills and talent online. Similarly, the rise of digital entrepreneurship allows anyone to build their own solutions and companies. If everyone with a computer and an idea was able to start their own small business, we might emerge post-coronavirus with a reenergized economy. However, many of these would-be business people don’t know how to code, don’t have the time to learn, or don’t have the money to invest in a coding bootcamp. And that’s why, to Solivan’s point, no-code is exactly what we need right now.
At Unqork, our no-code platform empowers people to bring their ideas to life by eliminating code. We designed our platform to be radically collaborative, accessible, and user-friendly so creators with an interest could start building. Self-validating, modular components with drag-and-drop functionality make it easy to build complex applications with logical workflows. Security is built-in from the ground up so enterprising business owners can trust that their sensitive data will be safe. And our enablement tools like Unqork Academy make it easy for you to start learning no-code independently right away.
By making it possible to build exactly what you’re envisioning, Unqork’s no-code allows people to advance their own financial futures and the economy as a whole—even in the face of uncertain times.
You Might Also Be Interested in
