Show notes from Episode #167 of the Sweaty Startup Podcast.
People have been asking about businesses that Nick thinks they should start right now. At the start of the COVID pandemic, he detailed a few opportunities that would open up as the world changes. Right now, it’s time to talk about businesses you should absolutely not be dealing in for the time being.
Real estate
Nick has talked about housing, AirBnB’s, fix-and-flip, and single-family rentals being extraordinarily competitive for quite some time. People in those spaces are getting burned right now as loans are becoming more difficult to get, which drives housing prices down. Travel and movement is significantly down as well, so people with AirBnB’s or vacant rentals are at a complete loss for revenue. College towns like Athens, GA are especially impacted by this, with no students or workers around campus needing housing.
New developments
Businesses that are dependent on new developments are coming to a halt. Excavators, roofers, framers, windowing companies, and the like are seeing their pipeline come to a halt. Businesses like Nick’s are putting holds on their developments, and banks are hesitant to lend as well.
B2B Services
Most homeowners won’t be as affected by the impact of COVID unless they lose their jobs, but almost all businesses are struggling right now. Even those that are open are strapped for cash. Few businesses have made any significant revenue, much less any profit. In order to stay afloat they’ll be cutting back on marketing and service expenses that they can’t rationalize under these conditions.
That being said, when there is pain there is change, and change brings opportunity. These same businesses will be opportunities down the road as we recover from this damage and the current owners either cut back or go out of business. Be patient, strike while the iron is hot, and set your business up so that you can make it through storms like this. If you can start a business in a low-risk way, with minimal investment and without taking on debt, you can win. If you start to build the foundation now, you’ll be in the right spot when there’s opportunity in the market for these services.
Highlights
Real estate [2:45]
New developments [5:05]
Business to business [6:35]