The pandemic has left no stone untouched in terms of its adverse side effects on how we live our daily lives. The health and safety protocols put in place to protect citizens have also affected how we do business. Countless businesses have taken heavy hits to their bottom lines, with some even having to close down shop permanently. However, some companies have actually found success in making it through the pandemic with creative ideas and malleable business structures. An openness to change and a willingness to constantly adapt to meet the market’s demands have been essential factors to success in multiple business sectors. The pandemic has brought numerous challenges that companies weren’t quite prepared for, but it has also opened up some unique opportunities.
Due to the unstable trends seen in consumers during the pandemic, some businesses have chosen to go mobile. Opting to go mobile has allowed businesses to avoid some hefty rent and overhead costs. Restaurants, salons, cleaning companies, and clinics have transformed into food trucks and heavily equipped remote vehicles.
As the populous cities see more people choosing to move to less expensive and less dense areas, the market has quite literally up and left for some businesses. Completely changing locations would be a bigger gamble for businesses as it’s currently unclear if we’ll see our cities come to life again anytime soon.
Clinics
One of the most apparent businesses to go mobile were clinics. Even hospitals had set up mobile vans that were capable of conducting testing and other contact tracing procedures. It soon followed that smaller clinics also started to use these mobile vans to conduct their patient consultations.
During the pandemic, they played a vital role when equipped with carts that contained healthcare supplies for patients and other necessities. Going mobile also allowed them to set up appointments online without having people packed together in a waiting room where the virus could quickly spread. These clinics also became vital in depressed areas where the healthcare infrastructure wasn’t as robust and was easily overwhelmed by the pandemic. They also served to reach isolated communities that had poor access to essential health care services.
Restaurants
Food trucks served as go to’s for city folk before the pandemic. They can serve anything from breakfast food and coffee to Mexican cuisines such as burritos and tacos. These establishments became so popular in fast-paced cities because they gave you great meals in no time at all.
When fewer people were walking the city streets, these businesses started moving closer to the suburbs to serve more consumers. They continued their operations while also taking part in pick-up and delivery orders. The food they often served required a minimal workforce to prepare and could easily accommodate the ever-changing health and safety protocols. Restaurants with physical locations also entered into the food truck market, either branching out or ditching rent costs altogether.
Cleaning crews
A home that was spick and span in the midst of a pandemic was next to impossible. Parents were working from, and children were transitioning to virtual learning. Add the anxiety that came from the Corona, and it’s really no surprise that cleaning crews became quite popular during the pandemic. These businesses had to get creative in order to efficiently cater to the increase in demand for home cleaning and disinfecting services.
Mobile trucks or vans allowed them to move from house to house without going back to their main office for supplies. Heavy-duty equipment aimed for disinfecting homes also took up more space than your average cleaning supplies. These businesses allowed families to experience cleaner homes while not adding to their list of growing responsibilities.
Salons
Even as the pandemic was at its peak, self-care was still a priority for many people. The impending burnout that came from adjusting to new working hours and a new way of communicating with colleges had people looking for ways to de-stress. Lockdowns also caused increased feelings of uneasiness and lower self-esteem as a result of unwanted weight gain or loss.
Salons transitioning to mobile salons happened fairly late into the pandemic, but it was definitely the perfect timing for them. As the market became more comfortable with the new normal, they looked for safer ways to start getting back there. Salons offered, haircuts, shaves, and other treatments that were are all from inside a van that could come right to your doorstep.
The new normal we’re seeing unfold will undoubtedly affect how we currently do business. Hybrid models in a vast majority of sectors appear to be the trend. Maintaining physical locations while also taking advantage of technological factors that allow some aspects of the business to be done remotely offers a happy medium for safety and productivity.