The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 to 1919 was horrible. It was first identified inside the military in Kansas in spring 1918 (It was during WWI). About 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. Deaths were at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the U.S. They never found a vaccine.
The pandemic was followed by the “Roaring 20’s”, a decade of growth and widespread prosperity with fashion. automobiles, aviation, and cinema.
The US became the richest country in the world per capita and since the late-19th century had been the largest in total GDP. Mass production and consumerism boomed!
With the rollout of the vaccine, I am hopeful that we are nearing the end of the 2020-2021 COVID-19 Pandemic. The CDC has finally rolled back mask requirements for vaccinated people and infections rates are dropping in every state. In the first quarter of this year, GDP is up 6.4% and personal spending is up 4.2%.
All signs point to a new “Roaring 20’s- the 2020’s. Is your small business ready to take advantage?
After so many small businesses had to contract or pivot to survive during the pandemic, now it’s time to invest and look to expand. Here is where to start:
- If you pivoted to different lines of business as a result of consumer demand changing in COVID-19, what can you do now to retain those new areas of revenue and rebuild your traditional ones that were growing before the pandemic?
- How can you “re-imagine” for your business again, but this time while the economy is booming? What do your customers want now that they are spending again? What else is possible if you invest in marketing and infrastructure?
- What is your plan to retain the best people since they are already in short supply and as people start to evaluate the meaning of work, how will you retain them?
Let me know what your small business doing to take advantage of the new “Roaring 20’s”.
