On today’s Business Beat, Jeff discusses how it’s as good a time as ever to start a business, especially in Michigan. In fact, a report from Detour Detroit found applications for Michigan businesses skyrocketed by 43% from February 2020 to February 2021, and Black communities were a major factor.
Tune in to the Business Beat, below, to learn why these numbers for Michigan businesses are surging:
“Our bottom line: this is a great time to start a business, and if you’ve been thinking about doing just that, you need to jump on it now. Carpe diem!”
– Jeff Sloan
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Good morning, Paul!
Well, we know all too well: the pandemic has wreaked havoc on businesses, big and small, right? We all know it has and so follows logically that this must be a terrible time to even consider starting a business. Well, not at all. In fact, entrepreneurs across the country are starting businesses at a record pace in this post-pandemic era, and as Aaron Mondry reported so well in Detour Detroit last week, Michigan is part of that wave of businesses being opened like never before.
Between February 2020 and February 2021, the number of business applications surged by 43% and was especially strong in Black communities here in Michigan. Applications in that community went up by 58%, higher than the rest of the country’s average during that time. Why? Well, it may be because those out of jobs or those having their hours reduced are looking to start a business as a critical source of income.
Maybe it’s because as we’ve pointed out previously on the Business Beat, the chaos of the pandemic has created opportunity, new ideas, new ways of doing business, new needs of consumers that can be filled by new business models, new expectations of consumers in the way they shop and buy and, thus, the opportunity to satisfy their new desires.
Another reason could be that the pandemic acted like a sort of pause in many people’s routine lives that gave rise to self-reflection and consideration that never would have existed if life had simply continued as normal. Whatever the case, there’s no denying that entrepreneurs are going after their slice of the pie big time right now.
As Aaron reported, Wendy Thomas, Michigan Small Business Development Center’s director for Southeast region of Michigan, indicates that her office saw a 700% increase in requests for assistance from 2019 to 2020. Our bottom line: this is a great time to start a business, and if you’ve been thinking about doing just that, you need to jump on it now. Carpe diem!
I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.
