Amid COVID-19, small is more beautiful than ever

With the Philippine economy taking such a huge hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipinos, according to a recent study, have turned to something “small” to cope financially with the global health crisis: microbusinesses.

That is the key finding of the “2020 Global Entrepreneurship Survey” by GoDaddy, the US-based internet domain registrar and web hosting company, which looks at how the pandemic has impacted the world’s smallest businesses.

The survey, conducted in June among 5,265 entrepreneurs across 10 countries (the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States), reveals that one in three Filipinos, despite the uncertainty of the times, decided to establish new microbusinesses.

The majority of those surveyed (93 percent) run businesses with 10 employees or less. In the Philippines, 70 percent of respondents are millennials aged 24 to 39.

Other results also reflect the apparent positivity and resiliency of Filipinos: over 90 percent say they expect to grow their businesses by at least 25 percent in the next three to five years; and almost 80 percent said they expect to recover from the pandemic within a year.

This as nearly half of respondents say they had to stop operations temporarily, while 81 percent report a reduction in their revenues, with COVID-19 making a large dent on microbusinesses’ bottom line.

However, even with everyone facing financial troubles, income isn’t the only thing that matters to Filipino entrepreneurs—community is just as important.

A third of respondents say they used their businesses to make donations and do other acts of charity. Over 70 percent also say it’s important for them that their businesses still have a positive impact on their respective communities—the highest among all countries surveyed.

“Entrepreneurs around the world continue to inspire in the way they keep marching forward even in the face of the challenges caused by the pandemic,” says Tina Shieh, marketing director for GoDaddy Asia.

To get started on their recovery process, the study reveals that Filipino entrepreneurs are turning to online technology for help.

“Filipino microbusinesses are really looking at tiding the situation over by adopting new ways to maintain operations. This is where the shift to online has helped as it allowed them to continue reaching their customers and opened a new avenue for them to continue transactions online,” Shieh says.

Specifically, almost 70 percent of Filipino entrepreneurs surveyed say they are learning more about social media. Over 40 percent are looking at putting up their own website; around the same number are considering mobile apps, and looking into e-commerce.

“With the physical limitations due to the pandemic, even more people are now online. Online presence is imperative for businesses as it allows their venture to be discovered, helps with business credibility, and with available technologies, to be a main point for information and even transactions,” Sheih says.  “In the long term, more businesses will shift to the online marketplace as the pandemic showed that having online capabilities allows a business to stay operational amid crisis.”

And to make the most of online tech tools for one’s business, Sheih also recommends that entrepreneurs have an integrated platform that will make it convenient for them to manage all their channels in one place.

“Our survey shows that Filipino entrepreneurs are fast adopters, resilient and working hard to keep supporting their customers and their communities. Having a website that is integrated with social media and e-commerce tools can help microbusiness owners strengthen their online presence and stay connected to their customers,” she adds.