The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a great challenge for small businesses and no doubt many entrepreneurs raised the white flag this year. Businesses faced a lot of difficulties from lacking of business funding, short-term business closures, MCO/RMCO period that lead to a drastic number of people not going out and spend money. Despite all of this, 2021 still show a great time to go into business. Lets’ take a look at some trends shaping new businesses next year and 5 business ideas for capitalizing on them:
1. Hybrid events in 2021
The current pandemic has not only affect tourism & airline industry but other industries too. We have to adjust to a new normal since MCO/RMCO took effect early this year. All event organizers had to either postpone or cancel their events and this includes wedding events too.
However, many event planners resort to other alternatives. You may have heard of the term hybrid events quite often this year and it has gained popularity among local companies.
Hybrid events have several advantages over traditional events where anyone in the world could participate – they just require a stable internet connection and a laptop. Besides, audiences can participate in Q&A sessions, interacting with speakers and engaging with fellow attendees to give the real experience. It is definitely an idea that you should explore as it will stay even if we move back to normal circumstances in 2021.
2. Online schooling platform
Since the pandemic has forced schools to closed down temporary, the government made a wise decision to cancel major examinations such as UPSR and PT3 for this year. The shift to online schooling is increasing the demand for startups who can provide school syllabus online and host virtual classes.
It is an untapped market where you can explore in 2021. For instance, VKids Trend explores the e-learning industry where classes are cancelled and parents are caught in searching online education system to aid their children’s education. As most students already own a personal laptop, it’s a good idea to explore this area as students might depend on e-learning in the future.
3. Live stream shopping the new trend in 2021
Despite many entrepreneurs shift to e-commerce this year due to the pandemic, but it’s said not sufficient if they wish to gain more profit. Live stream shopping tred is positively growing mostly in China where China’s Taobao Live’s sessions set the trend in the e-commerce league. Its live sessions have increased by 110% since 2016 and the platform even grew their number of merchants by 719% during the country’s lockdown from January to February 2020.
This live stream shopping trend is something that Malaysia has experimented with the past few years. For example, Lazada and Shopee have invested in their live streaming features for SEA.
4. Cloud kitchens for the delivery business model
Many F&B businesses closed down their physical restaurants and choose cloud kitchens instead. It is more convenient as everyone is more open to order their food from food delivery services such as Grab, Foodpanda and many more.
Cloud kitchen is a place to cook food without a storefront and its purpose is specifically for deliveries. Take KyoChon as an example – the well-known F&B brand has been doing their cooking in cloud kitchens to supply to their restaurants chains.
5. Agriculture
Agriculture is indeed a profitable industry you can explore. It remains as one of the best industry to explore now and even for 10 years more. More consumers are willing to buy produce from small players to support small businesses during the tough times.
Furthermore, many young entrepreneurs are resorting to this business idea for a wide variety of reasons. What’s not to love growing your own food and enjoy them? Maybe it is time for young entrepreneurs to venture in this industry and change it to be more modern.
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