Group number: Group 6

Section: IS107

Group members: Bayer, Neil Ivan

Cagat , Jethro

Ishizawa , Sean Kaoru

Milanes , Daniel Matthew C.

Topic: The Effects of COVID-19 on Small businesses and their plans

Working Title: The Effects of COVID-19 on Small Businesses

Focused Variables: To find out the Major effects of COVID-19 on small businesses,

The Government’s Decision, The Small business owner’s decision, the readiness

of our society to face another pandemic, the state of businesses after the pandemic

is over
INTRODUCTION:

COVID-19 has impacted us and the World as a whole. It forced people to

adjust to the restrictions imposed by the government in response to the pandemic

on daily activities such as school, work, and business. Most, however, have

switched to other and more feasible methods of business such as switching to an

online platform. While most establishments have transitioned successfully, small

and independent businesses have suffered quite a bit. As a result, we conducted a

study to find the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses.

Running a small business is hard especially if young entrepreneurs are trying to

set up a small business during a global pandemic. But even so, small businesses try to

find ways to keep their livelihood afloat amidst this global pandemic. Bartik, Bertrand,

Cullen, Glaeser, Luca, , & Stanton (2020) found out in their study that mass layoffs

and closures had already happened in the early weeks of the pandemic. Moreover,

small businesses are also financially fragile with only about 2 weeks worth of cash on

hand during the time of the survey. As a result, most small establishments were forced

to take on debt or declare bankruptcy. While most establishments were forced to close,

some were still deemed necessary by the government to remain operational throughout

the pandemic. With their study , they found out complications small businesses had
 during the early days of the pandemic. Most of them having to declare bankruptcy and

to take on debt just shows how badly the pandemic has affected small businesses and

the quality of life as a whole.

Tighter Government restrictions are not helping either. The study conducted by

Donthu and Gustafsson (2020) found out that countries are starting to stockpile on

supplies or having to produce them locally. The Government has also banned overseas

travel and people are cautious in getting shipped from overseas too. With this in mind, it

is clear how this might affect small businesses who are trying to sell goods. Donthu &

Gustafsson (2020) also stated that “The COVID-19 pandemic is a sharp reminder that

pandemics have happened in the past and will continue to happen in the future. As a

response, people must be prepared to dampen their effects on society.” (abstract. 1)

I. Management and Damage Control

The pandemic has affected a large number of entrepreneurs globally. A

research conducted by Kordestani, M. (2020) stated that the pandemic paved the way

for an outburst of innovation in the field of entrepreneurship with its corresponding

pros and cons. While entrepreneurs are hopeful and resilient, the pandemic will

forcibly improve their strategies. While some businesses may have crashed, other

variables may be created surrounding the pandemic in the near future. In a study

conducted by Alves et al. (2020), p.24 , They found out that business crisis can

generate major damages therefore it can affect the trust among employees to

undermine the value of business,endanger business goals by providing limited time for
 management to respond also to exert pressure on management including business

closure. Another study by Audrey et al. 020), p.26 reported that it is easy to panic when

many or thousands of people do not know how they can manage and cope with their

business today we are experiencing the pandemic. Everyone that is managing small

businesses should make plans and not rush with their decisions. If one has better

decisions, one must also have better information. The succeeding plan is they must

figure out what are the customer’s needs today .If one has a small business one should

know how to manage and cope with it. There are two ways for a business to succeed.

One must give a part of interest to the consumers, and communicate. An additional

way is to always prepare a back-up plan for the business. One should always be

prepared not just physically but as well as mentally and emotionally. Everyone is

taking the risk just to earn money to start again and to invest money. The pandemic

had a big impact on everyone. No one knows what will happen afterwards. The most

important thing to keep in mind is to keep oneself motivated and consistent in order

for a business to grow.

II. Effective use of an online platform

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected economies and individuals,

everything being equal, and of any age, from varying backgrounds, across the globe.

A study led by Arreola (2020) found that social media and virtual gatherings,
 locally and across the globe, have gotten the "new typical" as individuals endeavor

to keep regularity in their lives in the midst of pandemic limitations. Here in the

Philippines, Digital 2020 April Statshot report by Hootsuite and We Are Social uncovered

that 64% of Filipino web clients are investing more energy in web-based media, with 23%

demonstrating an expanded action in their internet shopping action. With customers

turning more to web based shopping in the midst of pandemic limitations, business

visionaries have accepted the computerized wonder for web based shopping much more.

Internet business sites, for example, Lazada and Shopee, are at the front line of these web

based shopping stages with expected floods in deals and incomes in large numbers of

pesos. Innovation has effectively changed online deals into an endless commercial center

where leading business has gotten more helpful and proficient for the two merchants and

vendors. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this commercial center a more evident need.

With this flood in online deals and business movement, the public authority hopes to help

online merchants to remember their duty commitments, with the Bureau of Internal

Revenue's (BIR) issuance of Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 60-2020 named

"Commitments of Persons conducting Business Transactions Through any Forms of

Electronic Media and Notice to Unregistered Businesses." The Circular essentially orders

all entrepreneurs who are occupied with an online business stage in any structure,

regardless of whether computerized or electronic, to enroll their organizations with the

BIR and pay charges on their deals.

LITERATURES:

The study conducted by Brülhart, M., Lalive, R., T., Siegenthaler, M. (2020)
reported that with rapidly increasing Covid-19 infections, the Swiss government decreed a
partial lockdown on 16 March, 2020. Non-essential shops, restaurants, entertainment
venues, schools, nurseries and universities were closed, and non-essential workers were
asked to stay at home and work from there if possible. The lockdown was gradually relaxed
after twenty-seventh of April, with most restrictions lifted by the eighth of June. For many
businesses, the pandemic meant a dramatic or even complete loss of turnover. Recent
research shows that overall spending would have been severely reduced even in the absence
of a decreed lockdown, because of consumers’ fear of infection and because of a collapse
in export demand. It is estimated that total demand fell by more than 30% during the Swiss
lockdown, and GDP is projected to contract by more than 5% over the whole yearFootnote
2. Demand will likely remain subdued at least in certain sectors for as long as social
distancing is warranted and foreign markets are depressed. This state of affairs could
potentially take several years until a vaccine or an effective cure is found. The combination
of a time-limited forced shutdown of large parts of the economy followed by a potentially
long lasting drag on contact-intensive activities presents economic policy-makers with
monumental challenges. The main goals in the initial lockdown period were to avoid
excessive income losses by workers in affected sectors and to avoid damage to the
productive structure of the economy through large-scale layoffs and bankruptcies.

The based on study by Lobel Trong Thuy Tran (2020), given the severe impacts of
the Covid-19 pandemic on business activities, this study presents a systematic framework
to examine the effect of the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms (PEEP) on
consumer's perceived economic benefits in predicting sustainable consumption. This study
adopted uses and gratification theory to base the conceptual model while adding a boundary
condition of pandemic fear. The primary research method of this study is a quantitative
survey and analysis. Using a sample of 617 online consumers with PLS analytical
technique, this study finds a positive moderating effect of pandemic fear on the
relationships among PEEP, economic benefits, and sustainable consumption. The
contribution of this study is its examination of how economic benefit mediates the PEEP
and sustainable consumption relationship which is dependable on the levels of pandemic
fear. Implications for managers and theory are also discussed.

Smith L.P (2020) said that the effects and the impact of having a small business
while In China, the region was hit hard as a large number of citizens contracted the disease
and many were forced into quarantine. Then the partial and full shutdowns of
 plants and factories, some of which were being used by prominent technology
companies to manufacture their goods and products.Example of it is Apple they
experienced shortages on its iPhone supplies as a result of the company's primary
manufacturer, They are shutting down much of its production in China. Ultimately for
Apple, this will lead to a significantly reduced iPhone shipments by as much as 10%,
according to results by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo cited by MacRumors. And while
companies often have contingency plans, which revolve around ramping up production in
a region that isn't impacted, the rapid spread of the coronavirus across the globe makes it
very difficult for everyone and which regions would be least affected. Even then the
business and resources of the Chinese economy will not be easy. Initiatives have seen the
government invest billions in advanced manufacturing sectors, including
telecommunications equipment and semiconductors.

Pears, M. (2020) reported the plans or strategies and the effects of having a business
while there is a crisis, this study conducts that in this age of uncertainty linked to the current
global health crisis, entrepreneurship can provide creative solutions by pooling the
knowledge and wisdom of entrepreneurs and innovators across geographical boundaries.
In particular, to snatch opportunity (Ji) from the jaws of the crisis, entrepreneurs can find
and create new opportunities across multiple sectors—commercial, social, and
governmental—to address the grave issues faced by societies worldwide. For instance,
hospitals, as hybrid organizations, need to accommodate multiple institutional logics in
China, while cross-sector collaboration and partnerships can promote the process of
Chinese healthcare reform (Xing et al. 2018) in an inclusive approach that draws upon the
beauty and power of entrepreneurship to achieve sustainable regional development and
economic transformation (Kraus et al. 2020). International organizations around the world
are in a race against time to find effective solutions to curb the spread of the virus and
eventually vanquish it. The United Nations is calling for innovative, scientific, and
technological solutions suited to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated
impacts. Despite its negative impacts, the COVID-19 crisis presents unique opportunities
for entrepreneurs to come up with creative disruption for the benefit of individuals,
organizations, and society. For instance, given the urgent quest for indigenous innovation
and industry transformation, in China, returnee entrepreneurship is conducive to fostering
a mass entrepreneurship and innovation movement (Froese et al. 2019).
METHODOLOGY:

The research method used in this study is a qualitative approach for the research
topic: The Effects of COVID-19 on Small businesses and their plans Qualitative research
collects information about people’s living experiences, feelings and attitudes, as well as
the meanings they attach to them. This form of analysis is advantageous to the researchers
because they agree

that numerical data is much superior to its qualitative equivalent. This also can be used to
figure out how or why things happened, explain events, and describe behavior. In carrying
out this qualitative/quantitative analysis on how the pandemic has negatively affected
small businesses, taking into account other similar supporting studies, the data collected
will be intended to help researchers understand how COVID-19 has affected small
business , how they are coping , and finally the methods they used to keep their business
alive

I.Research Design

This research shall be conducted using a qualitative design. With a qualitative

design, the researchers will be able to gather information more accurately and in detail
compared to other research designs. This research aims to find the adverse effects of
COVID-19 on small businesses.
II.Participants

The researchers chose their respondents to be small business owners who are
currently enrolled in Mapua University and students from other campuses in Metro Manila
as well . The number of respondents is at least 12. There is no particular track or grade
level the researchers have in mind. The only criteria for the respondents is that they have
a small business on or before the Pandemic.The participants will then be asked a series of
questions regarding their experiences having a small business amidst a pandemic.

III.Instruments

The researchers instrument in gathering the data from respondents consists of an

interview with open-ended questions to maximize information gathering to be answered
by the chosen respondents. They are asked to explain their own opinions and personal
experiences regarding their businesses during the pandemic. The questions are going to be
the basis of the conclusion of the whole research regarding the effects of COVID-19 on
small businesses.

The researchers will conduct interviews to obtain the appropriate data from the
participants who will be asked to answer all of the questions. The data will be tallied into
the proper statistical graph, which the researchers will have a copy of. The tallying of
scores and the collection of data is much more rigorous than using an e-form.

IV.Procedure
 The researchers shall conduct interviews throughout Mapua University and to
other schools as well to be answered by the willing respondents. After 12 of the chosen
respondents has taken the interview, it shall be collected by the researchers to be tallied
and gathered and with the use of Microsoft Excel, which is the chosen platform of the
researchers , the researchers shall begin to hypothesize and conclude the effects of
COVID-19 on small businesses

V.Sampling Technique Used

The sampling method used by the researchers is purposive sampling in the survey
questionnaire in order for the respondents to answer the questions prepared by the
researchers. A survey questionnaire is used to gather information needed that the
researchers will use for the conclusion of the whole study. The researchers used the
purposive sampling by judging that the respondents are the only required samples that they
need to use as respondents due to factors of the most affected, and scopes that are only
necessary for the research. This method was used by the researchers in order to collect data
quickly.

VI.Data analysis

Since the data was used to classify the respondents and problem , diagnostic
analysis will be used in this research.Diagnostic analytics seeks to delve deeper in order to
understand why something happened (E.Stevens, 2021). Data analysis will be used to
understand how small business owners kept up during lockdown. Diagnostic analysis will
also be used since there are a lot of reasons for the radical decisions that small business
owners made that made the researchers question them.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

This chapter presents the analysis of the gathered data of the researchers.
Structured interview was used for the gathering of the data being presented. The
participants that were selected for this study are small business owners ranging from 16-
21 years old residing in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Table 1: Definition of Positive.

Themes Definition

Positive Yes, the respondent is a business owner.

Table 1 represents the definition of the interviewees’ response to the first interview
question which is “Do you consider yourself as a business owner?”

Question 2: What type of small business do you have?

Based on the data gathered, most people choose to operate online shops rather
than physical shops, which is a logical approach to the pandemic since the government
prohibits going outside of one’s home. That way, business owners can still generate
income without compromising their safety and the safety of their customers.

Table 2: Interviewees’ type of business.

Theme Sub-theme Sample Response

Positive (n=12) Online (7) I sell cosmetics and hand-

painted bags online.

Physical (4) Physical store because we

don’t have enough
reputation to expand to the
online market yet

Both (1) Currently, I'm handling two

businesses which sell
beverages and the other one
is related to fashion and just
 recently I bought a franchise
in Toktok.

Table 2 represents the data gathered by the researchers. On the first column, all of the
interviewees are obviously business owners. In the second column, the researchers asked the
interviewees the type of small business they are operating. The results show that there are three
types of businesses that the interviewees were conducting: online, physical, and both. It is
apparent that most of the interviewees conduct online stores rather than physical stores while
one respondent owns both types of stores.

Table 3: Definition of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal.

Theme Definition

Intrapersonal Interviewee was influenced by outside

factors.

Interpersonal The interviewee’s sole influence was

his/herself.

Table 4: Influence that drove business owners into starting a small business.
Theme Sub-themes Sample Responses

Intrapersonal (n=10) Family (4) My parents because they

also have their own small
business and they want us to
get exposed in
entrepreneurship.

Colleagues (3) A friend of mine who had a

business in selling clothes.
She is very successful and
she is very good in
marketing and we talked
about the things that I can
do since I am not really
good in business. I used to
cook as my old business and
she inspired me to try again.

Current Trends (2) My Mom started the idea to

 run a milk tea business. She
got inspired by famous food
chains.

Significant Other (1)

My girlfriend who was
already involved in an
online business.

Interpersonal (n=2) Self Goals (1) Ever since I started

Highschool it has always
motivated me to start my
own business. And since
Covid came it gave me an
opportunity for us to
actually focus on our
business.

Themselves (1) Just me.

Table 4 represents the influences on the interviewees that pushed them to start a small
business. In the first column, it is apparent that many of the respondents were influenced by their
family and friends while others were either influenced by current trends, significant others, their
own goals, or themselves.

Table 5: The contribution of their businesses in their lives.

Theme Sample Responses

Finances (11) It helps me contribute to the bills in the

house and pay for our daily needs. It also
allows me to give some money to my parents
and siblings.

Experience (1)
It gives me job future experience and
knowledge in the industry

Table 5 represents the contribution of the small businesses of the interviewees to their
lives. Majority of the interviewees said that their businesses help them manage their finances
while one (1) interviewee said that it helps him/her gain experience in his/her desired field.
 Table 6: Definitions of Positive and Negative.

Themes Definition

Positive The lockdown had a positive effect on their

small business.

Negative The lockdown had a positive effect on their

small business.

Table 7: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year-long lockdown on
small businesses.

Theme Sub-themes Sample Responses

Positive (n=4) Lockdown helped (4)

The lockdown helped us
start our first business which
is the one that sells
beverages and since it is
under food and beverages
and is considered and
essential, it grew at a rapid
rate.

Negative (n=8) Limits productivity (3) It limits our reach and

productivity since going out
of the shop is quite risky and
the lack of resources is
detrimental to our business
but it helped us adapt with
the times.

Limit Sales (4)

It affected the sales since our
products are not really
considered an essential.
 Salaries decreased (1) It totally affect our business.
We compare our salary
before than today’s life it
has big difference because
no one knows when will the
pandemic stop.

Table 7 represents the data which shows the impact of the pandemic and the year-long
lockdown on the interviewees’ small businesses. On the first column, three (3) interviewees said
that it limited the productivity of their businesses, four (4) said that the lockdown helped their
business grow, four (4) said that it limited the sales of their businesses, while one (1) said that it
decreased the salary of tier business.

Table 8: Definitions of ‘Continued’,’Postponed’, and ‘Closed’.

Themes Definition

Continued Continued operations during the lockdown.

Postponed Postponed operations during the lockdown.

Closed Ended operations during the lockdown.

Table 9: The impact of the lockdown on the interviewees’ business operations.

Themes Sub-themes Sample Responses

Continued (n=6) Remained open during

lockdown (3) Yes, our business never
closed.

Started business during

lockdown (2) I only started my business
after the lockdown and I'm
still operating it until now.

Closed physical store,

opened an online store (1) We actually closed our retail
 shop but we opened up a
Shopee shop. This is actually
the first time since we don’t
have any experience with
online retailing.

Continued since its online

(1) I still continued it during
lockdown because it is an
online store and I think no
health protocols will be
violated even if I continued
operations.

Postponed (n=2) Forced to close but reopened

at a later date (1) We were forced to close
during the first few months
but once the restrictions
loosened up and the fear of
covid went down we decided
to reopen.

Postponed the launch date

(1) We didn’t really close but we
had to postpone our opening
day. But we still accepted
reservations and inquiries.

Closed (n=3) Forced to close entirely (3)

When lockdown it's totally
closed.

Table 9 represents the data which indicates the impact of the year-long lockdown on the
interviewees’ business operations. On the first column three (6) continued operations amidst the
lockdown, two (2) postponed operations during the lockdown, while three (3) ended operations
during the lockdown. On the second column under ‘Continued’, three (3) continued operations
amidst the lockdown, two (2) just started their business during the lockdown, one (1) transferred
to a different platform in order to continue operations, while one (1) continued operations since
the platform was not affected by the lockdown. On the second column under ‘Postponed’, one (1)
was forced to close and reopened at a later date and one (1) was forced to postpone the launch
date. On the second column under ‘Closed’, all interviewees were forced to end operations.

Table 10: Definition of ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’.

Themes Definition

Positive The lockdown had a positive effect on the

small business.

Negative The lockdown had a negative effect on the

small business.

Table 10 represents the definition of ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’ for Table 11.

Table 11: Status of small business during the lockdown.

Theme Sub-themes Sample Responses

Positive (n=7) Better during (7) During the lockdown our

business truly thrived since
many people were craving
milk tea and the fact that our
local shop is more
accessible and safer than
malls and the lack of
competition helped us
further.

Negative (n=5) Better before (5) Our business was good

before.

Table 11 represents the status of the small business during the lockdown. Seven of the
interviewees said that their businesses did better during the lockdown while five (5) said that
their businesses did better before.

Table 12: Definition of ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’.

Themes Definition

Positive The business is better after the lockdown

 was lifted

Negative The business was better before the

lockdown was lifted.

Table 12 represents the definition of ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’ for Table 13.

Table 13: Status of business after lockdown.

Themes Sub-themes Sample Responses

Positive (7) Did better after (7) I think it is doing better

currently because there are
lesser restrictions and there
is a big gap in sales if we
are going to compare the
current situation than when
the time I started my
business.

Negative (5) Did better before (5) I think no, the finances
dropped drastically

Table 13 represents the status of the business after the lockdown. Seven (7) said that their
businesses did better after the lockdown while five (5) said that their business did better before
the lockdown ended.

Table 14: Advantages that the lockdown has brought.

Themes Sample Responses

Experience (2) It helped me gain experience in

entrepreneurship

Reach (5) I think the upside is more people are now

online which I think is the reason how our
page gained a lot of followers and the
exposure. But besides that there is really
now because it limits our interactions with
people.

Friends (1) I became friends with some of my clients

upon helping them during their pandemic
 travel.

God (2) The positive thing that the lockdown brought

to our business is God is always there to
support us and help us all throughout.

Financial security (2) This pandemic gave us many customers.

Table 14 represents the advantages that the lockdown has brought to their businesses.
Two (2) individuals said that they gained experience, five (5) said that it improved their
network, one (1) individual said that it brought him/her a new friend that was once a client, two
(2) individuals said that it brought them closer to God, while two (2) individuals said that the
lockdown made them financially secured.

Table 15: Disadvantages that the lockdown has brought.

Themes Sample Responses

Decreased productivity (1) Due to the restrictions that have been put in
place it decreased our productivity
especially in ingredients and delivery.

Decreased exposure (1) A lot. It restricts the way we interact with

people and is easier to interact with people
in real life since it's easier to meet and
advertise people face to face.

Less profit (1) The downside is we had to close down our

physical store. Another downside is that we
cant have an online store and a physical
store which would mean less profit.

Fear (2) The downside is we are scared and we don’t

know if the pandemic will stop because what
if business will be totally closed because of
high cases of covid.

Less sales (5) Since we're in a pandemic and people are

restricted from going outside their homes,
they would prioritize buying their daily
essentials rather than the products I sell.

None (1) nothing

 Table 15 represents the disadvantages that the lockdown has brought upon their
business. One (1) individual said that it decreased productivity of their business, one (1)
individual said that it decreased the exposure for his/her business, one (1) individual said that
he/she generated lesser profit, two (2) individuals said that the pandemic brought them fear of
being infected, five (5) individuals said that it led to poor sales, while one (1) individual said that
it did not had any disadvantages to his/her business.

Table 16: Plans once the lockdown is over.

Themes Sample Responses

Will continue (12) Yes. Since I already started it and also so I

can expand my business and gain more
income in the following years.

Table 16 represents their plans for the business once the pandemic is over. All of the
interviewees said that they plan to continue their businesses once the pandemic is over.

Table 17: Improvements to be done on small businesses after the pandemic.

Themes Sample Responses

Back to normal (1) More people will visit our shops because the
fear of Covid is gone but sadly our
competitors shall be open yet again

Expansion (6) We will expand our business and probably

add more products.

Exposure (1) I think we would make things easier for us

now after the pandemic is better. It could get
bigger from the exposure since the
lockdown is over.

Consistent (1) Nothing, I'm still going to do the same thing

I did before the lockdown.

Invest money (1) The changes that shall happen to our

business when crisis is over we wish to to
have big income a little by little to Invest
money for future and to be ready again
when there is a pandemic will happen again.
 Want good business (1) The changes shall happen to our business is
to have good business and good income to
be earned.

Table 17 represents the improvements to be done on their businesses once the pandemic
is over. One (1) individual said that he/she plans to return to the normal state of his/her
business. Six (6) individuals said that they plan to expand their business, one (1) individual said
that they plan to gain more exposure, one (1) individual said that he/she plans to continue
whatever he/she is doing with his/her business, one (1) individual said that they will invest
money, while one (1) individual said that he/she plans to have a good business.

CONCLUSION:

The researchers have concluded that there are both positive and negative effects of

COVID-19 on small businesses. One of the positive effects that the COVID-19 pandemic

brought on Small Businesses are the new found Experiences brought about by these

confusing times as well as the reach that they have been given. Since most of our

respondents responded that they have an Online Shop or have started Business with an

Online Shop their reach has been quite far since with the help of Social Media and Word

of Mouth from friends and Families alike, they have garnered a substantial reach and

foothold in the market.

Furthermore, there are a lot of negative effects that the lockdown brought

in small businesses. From the data gathered, small business owners were forced to

close down for good. This is Fact that is substantiated by the study conducted by

Bartik, Bertrand, Cullen, Glaeser, Luca, , & Stanton (2020), they have found that

mass layoffs and closures had already happened in the early weeks of the pandemic.

Moreover, small business owners state that they have limited productivity
 throughout the pandemic and they have reported that they have shown a lack of

sales during the pandemic and that their business did better after they have been in

a yearlong lockdown since they have gained experience and knowledge necessary

to continue their business in the new normal.

Strangely enough from the data gathered by the researchers during the interviews,

one business owner in particular reported that no negative effects has faced their small

business while others has reported that they have found some sort of spiritual atonement

when asked about the positive impacts that the pandemic had on their small businesses.

And lastly from the evidence collected by the researchers, Most small business owners

shall expand their business once the lockdown is over while others reported that they shall

remain consistent lest another pandemic shall arise. This is backed up by Donthu &

Gustafsson who states that “he COVID-19 pandemic is a sharp reminder that pandemics

have happened in the past and will continue to happen in the future. because of this we

must be prepared to dampen their effects on society”

RECOMMENDATIONS:
 This research has discovered the effects the COVID-19 had on small businesses

and the many problems that small business owners are faced with. In conducting this

research here are the possible recommendations to the problems that arose:

1. Small Business owners should be flexible and should adapt to the times to

stay relevant

2. The Government should pay attention to the small business owners as well

instead of the big businesses and corporations since small businesses are the

backbone of the economy

3. To future researchers who are willing to tackle this topic, handle with great

care and be competent in researching the topic. Make sure to allot the time

necessary to conduct the research.

Based on the outcome of this research, the researchers recommend that:

Small Business owners who are thinking into starting their own business

should think properly about the situation that they are in in order to stay relevant. The

researchers suggest that small business owners should be flexible and prepared for any

sudden changes that might affect their business.

Thus, small business owners should continue their business in the hopes of

expanding it further gaining more exposure, profit and reach. Due to the pandemic that we

are facing now , many small business owners are having a difficult time adjusting to the

sudden onset of the pandemic but this pandemic should be taken as a new learning

experience not just for the small business owners but us too.
REFERENCES

Bartik, A. W., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z., Glaeser, E. L., Luca, M., & Stanton, C.
(2020). The impact of COVID-19 on small business outcomes and expectations.
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