Huge amount of businesses going under due to covid

[Galdorf]

I have checked my competition most are closed down now things don`t look good here service industry is taking a beating and looks like another total shutdown is imminent any time i don`t know if i can survive another shutdown.

My work has dried up insurance work have not seen anything for months my service calls to movie theater banks and malls nothing for months i have been in the business for 35 years never seen it this bad i had to close my store front and downsize from 4000 sq ft to 20 sq ft for just service now not getting phone calls or walk ins for weeks on end.

Now looks like my options are limited i can retire or try to find other ways to make money i have talked to other shop owners and they are in same boat only thing that kept them open way government assistance even my friend who runs a gaming store games workshop partner is having major issues getting stock to sell now that England has shut down again he won`t have access to any more stock.

Going to try staying open with government assistance as long as possible but that might end by next year what is really strange my phone use to ring off the hook with calls from other service contractors now nothing also business service has dropped to almost nothing never seen anything like this have done quite alot of work for doctors and lawyers now nothing.

 

[Diggs]

That describes it pretty much for me also. I have the luxury of somewhat financial stability and am going to close up, pack my ebike in my van and take an extended vacation along the Gulf coast living out of the van as inexpensively as possible.

 

[Markverhyden]

Yeah, I'm probably off by 75%. Of course part of it is self-inflicted having moved back in March. But things are going to get worse. Haven't yet figured out if I want to roll up the carpet or keep at it.

 

[HCHTech]

So sorry to hear this, and so grateful that we have been largely insulated from these impacts (so far). We had our busiest quarter ever in March (primarily setting up remote access for everyone), then two terrible months, followed by a slow growth back to about 70% of "normal". We got some of the government's money, which helped quite a bit. Our business is 50% residential and 50% commercial, and I think that has played a big part of our outcome. Some months, Residential "saves" us, other months, Commercial "saves" us. Because of this, we've managed to break even each of the last four months. Although we've lost a few commercial customers because they shuttered their businesses, I'm hopeful we'll be back in the black this month.

Best of luck to those having trouble - I hope you are able to weather this storm.

 

[britechguy]

This pandemic is hell for pretty much everyone, with rare exceptions.

For those who operate out of storefronts and have rent to pay (if landlords won't work out something secondary to the pandemic) are definitely in a far worse condition than those of us who work from home.

The following is not meant as gloating (as my business is way, way down, too) but since I do not have an office/storefront I have no reason to close up business permanently. Those who do have those expenses may have to at their current locations, but the option still exists to keep yourself going as an entity from home, porting your business number to a cell if it's a landline.

In the end, if you are someone who wishes to be in this business after this pandemic is over, and who's already in this business now, it is easier to stay, making whatever adjustments to "facilities" as circumstances force, than trying to start all over again from square one. This is all the more so if you're well-established in your area. Building name/brand recognition and reputation is, by far, the hardest thing and keeping what you've got is far easier than building it again.

 

[phaZed]

I'm seeing similar patterns to everyone else here... however, my business has been doing pretty good. I am home-based and overhead is very low. There have been some competitors that have faded out during this whole deal which I believe has helped our business. I'm 80-90% residential based on volume.

The remote-work situation and the school-at-home situation has been keeping us pretty busy, it just sucks that every problem is a "critical" problem that needs to be fixed "yesterday"... people have become even more dependent on their machines (understandably). In our area, there have been absolute TONS of businesses that have permanently closed their doors - some of them being local mainstays of 10-20 or even 30 years. It's really sad to see and a total disaster.

A new development for us is the amount of computers we have piling up without payment. It's common for us to have a computer or two that takes a month to get picked up - or a client is waiting for their next paycheck, etc.... now though, I've currently got 6 computers that are over 60 days overdue for pickup, and another 3 just passing 30 days. Calling the customers to touch base and, well, they're hurting out there... the money isn't flowing, people losing their jobs, etc. We're holding them (gladfully) for as long as we reasonably can (way past our terms of service) for these folks, hopefully they can come get their stuff when they get back on their feet.

That last bit is what I'm particularly worried about... I think we/I am going to see a lagging trend of less customers - or customers that are all tapped out/kicked out their homes/lost their jobs, etc... I expect next year to be horrible. I feel there is going to be a huge crash in the markets/economy due to our current president/policy and the fact that we're going to be living with COVID for another 6-12 months or longer. The rent/housing moratorium is gone at the end of the year/beginning of next - there's going to be hell to pay as a society.

I'm happy about my business's current operating income - but am pretty much hoarding it or rolling it back into the business for things I have been putting off (I did a full remodel, got a new custom all-wood desk, new Remote Software, etc) - about 10K worth of biz stuff... for I'm sure, doing those things next year is going to be tougher.

I don't have a positive outlook for the near-future and am preparing for the worst. Will be extremely happy to be wrong.

 

[Satman]

I thought when this first started that it would make for more business and set up to do remote service calls . I figured that with more people working and schooling from home business would be through the roof. Instead it tanked in March through May. I guess many used their stimulus checks to replace old pc's and laptops. That and being very conservative with spending.I don't blame them, I did the same. I am lucky like britechguy that I work from home and don't have the overhead a lot of people deal with. Business has slowly built back up to maybe 70% normal so I'm thankful for that but I am also worried about the future. I agree with phaZed above. Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst. Best wishes to you all.

 

[Kitten Kong]

I work from home, have relatively low overheads. Mainly my av / backup.

But business for me, this year has been horrendous. Start of the year, with my depression coming to the front.

Dealing with that, then Covid hits the world.

If it wasn't for my residual income from mav clients etc, my doors would have closed for the last time a LONG time ago. Even now, I am >< to closing my doors.

Now my depression is getting bad again. Not as bad as earlier in the year, but I know the warning signs now.

The last couple of years my t/o has dwindled, my profits neglible. So why the heck am I still in business?

Because, I wouldnt survive not doing anything, I'm good at what I do, and this is what I love to do..

End of story.

 

[Mike McCall]

I too am feeling the pressure. I work from home as well, have monthly clients, but my retail/new customer side tanked. What makes it worse for me is my health. My heart attack last year, the significant effects of that, a couple more stents recently, morbid obesity, and chronic, and painful spinal issues (not due to my weight) has me in the very high-risk category. I take 13 pills for breakfast and another four at night. The side effects can sometimes complicate things, causing me to forget things or feeds my depression. Those are just the highlights. I have other health issues that complicate all the above. Having strangers come over where I control the environment makes my wife very nervous and she prefers I not do that until things settle down. Doing onsite where I don't control the environment is a hard no.

I've been considering closing the retail side for quite a while and just working with monthly clients, but generating new residential business (which is my focus) would present some challenges. Until this year, my retail side has fed my monthly side. Not so now. I wouldn't retain what little sanity I may have if I quit completely. I'd be stuck staring out the window or watching Days of Our Lives.

There's another shop in town with retail space who's open. Don't know how business is for him, but he's still open.

 

[lcoughey]

For me, things are busier, enough that I wish I had another clean room tech. But, with current economic instability, I'm not sure it is worth the risk of hiring right now...especially if someone had to move for the position.

 

[Philippe]

If this can help someone, here are my numbers:

January​	February​	March​	April​	May​	June​	July​	August​	September​	October​
51%​	23%​	-40%​	-23%​	-34%​	7%​	188%​	132%​	10%​	-12%​

This is the comparison of my turnover between 2019 & 2020 (working solo, from home, on-site only, residential only, no hardware repair / service only). First lockdown in March (ended in May), I've taken no summer holiday in July & August, second lockdown started last week.
All in all, not so bad for now...

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I'm in the UK and been in business for the last 9 years working from an office in my house, I do about 50/50 residential/commercial. The end of March (when our first lockdown kicked in) and April saw very little business for me but the govt self-employment scheme payed 80% of past profits and business has picked up since, probably down about 20% on jobs since then but with the continued govt self employed grants I'm actually better off than last year.

I am also picking up a lot of business from repair shops that are classed as retail and have been temporarily shut down during the lockdown. I genuinely feel for the owners and their employees especially those with multiple stores, it's a sad state of affairs. The winners seem to be those with little overheads, that can continue to operate in a limited way and are getting the support they need from the govt. I just can't see how retail shops will continue, even with the govt covering some of their staff wages they will still have rent and other overheads to cover.

Now we are just about to go into another lockdown on Thursday and the non-essential retail stores including electronics/repair shops are being told to shut again. Worse thing is there is no real end in sight, we are just getting into this cycle of cases increase, restrictions tighten, cases continue to rise, total lockdown begins, cases begin to ease restrictions ease a little, restrictions are almost totally eased, cases rise, restrictions tighten etc etc... I suspect a large percentage of retail businesses will go under if the cycles continue, some big retail names have already folded here since it started.

When does it end, it's depressing as there is no real light at the end of the tunnel. The govt can't keep handing out money endlessly each time it places restrictions, it's going to run out and have to be paid back at some point. Unless there is a miracle vaccine that stops it in it's tracks then it will become endemic, a lot of scientists believe it will end up endemic even with a vaccine. Worrying times indeed.

 

[alexsmith2709]

I'm in the UK and been in business for the last 9 years working from an office in my house, I do about 50/50 residential/commercial. The end of March (when our first lockdown kicked in) and April saw very little business for me but the govt self-employment scheme payed 80% of past profits and business has picked up since, probably down about 20% on jobs since then but with the continued govt self employed grants I'm actually better off than last year.

I am also picking up a lot of business from repair shops that are classed as retail and have been temporarily shut down during the lockdown. I genuinely feel for the owners and their employees especially those with multiple stores, it's a sad state of affairs. The winners seem to be those with little overheads, that can continue to operate in a limited way and are getting the support they need from the govt. I just can't see how retail shops will continue, even with the govt covering some of their staff wages they will still have rent and other overheads to cover.

Now we are just about to go into another lockdown on Thursday and the non-essential retail stores including electronics/repair shops are being told to shut again. Worse thing is there is no real end in sight, we are just getting into this cycle of cases increase, restrictions tighten, cases continue to rise, total lockdown begins, cases begin to ease restrictions ease a little, restrictions are almost totally eased, cases rise, restrictions tighten etc etc... I suspect a large percentage of retail businesses will go under if the cycles continue, some big retail names have already folded here since it started.

When does it end, it's depressing as there is no real light at the end of the tunnel. The govt can't keep handing out money endlessly each time it places restrictions, it's going to run out and have to be paid back at some point. Unless there is a miracle vaccine that stops it in it's tracks then it will become endemic, a lot of scientists believe it will end up endemic even with a vaccine. Worrying times indeed.

You are describing my business right there!
During the last lockdown i launched our online shop, which was something i had already planned for this year, but not quite in this way! This time we've have spent the last few days letting all our customers know about it and to buy from there and the orders will still be processed as last lockdown many customers went elsewhere. We have been letting them know we will try and accommodate repairs but this will be in a very limited way and by appointment arranged by email only.
I was in a much better financial position before the last lockdown and had a nice chunk from the government in support, but this time we are not so lucky with only a £2,000 expected. Our biggest customer, who operate in the education and theatre industry hasnt been able to open at all so i have been without their income since March. That customer alone paid my rent with some change so its a big hit.
This time around i also have to pay the NI and pension contributions for my employees which is not much, but its still money i cant really afford without support.
My landlord phoned me yesterday morning, luckily he was understanding when i said I'll give him what i can but im not promising anything.
Our town is already dying, and just before all this we were about to start a BID to try and improve the town which we've now had to delay.

I am hoping i can survive, i employ 3 other people so its their livelihoods as well.

 

[kwest]

Sorry to hear business is down for a lot of you. We took in 30 new jobs yesterday and we have been busy through this entire pandemic. We have pivoted some (like selling chromebooks for kids) and a lot more remote work.
What is frustrating to me is that leases on retail locations haven gone down with all the vacancy. We want to open two more locations in the next 6 months which would bring our total shops to 5. The rent people are asking for is about 25% more than my most expensive spot.

 

[TCG]

I feel for people who have storefronts and employees. Thankfully, I've been busy here in Los Angeles, my overhead is minimal as I work from home as a one man shop. I've been picking up new clients that are transitioning from commercial office spaces to home offices, that has been pretty big here. My biggest hit so far has actually come from my Brothers office, he cut what he pays me in half.

 

[pcpete]

We have stayed as busy as ever. I suppose the majority of our clients our regular people and not businesses who have been wiped out by mandatory shutdowns

 

[pcpete]

Sorry to hear business is down for a lot of you. We took in 30 new jobs yesterday and we have been busy through this entire pandemic. We have pivoted some (like selling chromebooks for kids) and a lot more remote work.
What is frustrating to me is that leases on retail locations haven gone down with all the vacancy. We want to open two more locations in the next 6 months which would bring our total shops to 5. The rent people are asking for is about 25% more than my most expensive spot.

how far out are you spacing the locations out? We are doing great as an incumbent with many years and a good reputation, but I would not feel we would do well just opening up in a new city, what is your strategy to make these new shops from nothing work?

 

[britechguy]

I'm still trying to figure out how anyone thinks they can hike rents up for storefronts when the market for same is tanking? Where I am there are way more locations wanting for tenants than getting them. You can get some sweetheart deals on rent or lease these days around here, and if you're willing to go in to one of the "dying" strip shopping centers or mall, you have your pick of multiple options.

 

[Galdorf]

I'm still trying to figure out how anyone thinks they can hike rents up for storefronts when the market for same is tanking? Where I am there are way more locations wanting for tenants than getting them. You can get some sweetheart deals on rent or lease these days around here, and if you're willing to go in to one of the "dying" strip shopping centers or mall, you have your pick of multiple options.

Rent here does not change every place is going for $15sqrft even empty malls charge same price there are so many empty storefronts here never seen this before also there are no more niche businesses there is not even one video rental place or music store that sells vinyl.

Restaurants will be out of business if there is another 3 month lockdown i know 3 that had to downscale staff just to stay open i had to drop my landline because of costs gone to voip it is MUCH cheaper there is no comparing.

I talk alot with owner of pool hall next door he was closed for 6 months even though he is open now his business is down 80% even the movie theater cineplex they have no movies to show and are limited to how many they can have they have been running at a loss ever since they opened things don`t look good atm.

Finding stock on parts is getting harder and harder prices are going up to point can`t make any money takes a week even from large online retailers and there are limits on how many you can buy.

 

[kwest]

how far out are you spacing the locations out? We are doing great as an incumbent with many years and a good reputation, but I would not feel we would do well just opening up in a new city, what is your strategy to make these new shops from nothing work?

We are the go to place in our first town. Others have opened and closed. Second shop was a 15 minute drive from first. Some from that town used to drive to the first location but the second shop expanded our reach. Third location was 15 minutes from second. That did the same thing. For us we have broken even on a new location on month two but it takes two years to fully ramp it up. While it is slow techs at new location are doing remotes for other shops and helping support the busy shops. We have one onsite truck that covers the entire area. If we open shop 4 and 5 we will need a second truck.