The pandemic hit many small businesses hard last year. During the start of the pandemic, many companies were forced to close down temporarily. However, once the economy restarted by the end of summer, it was found that most of these businesses can no longer reopen. Additionally, during this time, the world shrunk by 5%.
This is a devastating loss for most industries in the world, damaging big and small businesses alike. Many have learned a valuable lesson during this time, and that is no one can ever predict what the future holds. So most have applied their learnings to new businesses this year, businesses that are known to stand against the test of time.
Currently, digital businesses are booming. The market was also valued at $284.38 billion and is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 22.5% during the next seven years. This is a massive increase for a business model that didn’t have a significant impact many years ago.
As more entrepreneurs flock into this business model, more entrepreneurs learn the reality of digital businesses. That is, it’s not as easy as it seems. Much like traditional businesses, digital businesses still require investments into various services to grow. One of these investments goes into disaster prevention plans.
Disaster Prevention Plan
Once you’ve started your digital business, you’ll have to look into the possible disasters that might happen soon. Since this is a particularly new business model, you might be one of the pioneers of a specific plan that will be used for years to come.
Many traditional and brick-and-mortar stores didn’t have a disaster prevention plan in the US. They all relied on business insurance to save their businesses, which led many of them to go bankrupt. In their minds, they felt invulnerable. But that led to their demise.
As a digital business, you shouldn’t feel that you’re invulnerable to the world’s happenings and that being on the internet means that you can’t experience what traditional businesses are experiencing right now. You should think ahead, get ready to hire an attorney to handle potential bankruptcy in the future, and invest in digital business insurance. Furthermore, you should have a protocol to follow once you’re business hits the red. Think of what you can do right now that can prevent these things from happening. Also, think of things that you can do once these things happen.
Security
Traditional businesses relied on security guards and smart devices to protect them from outsiders that aim to do bad things to their business. However, that didn’t save them from the pandemic because they didn’t see it coming. Thankfully, the threats on the internet aren’t as similar as the virus we are experiencing in the real world. But you should still prepare for them, nonetheless.
Threats in the digital world come in the form of malware and hackers. These are dangerous entities that could cost you millions of dollars if you aren’t prepared for it. Protection on the internet comes in various forms, one of which uses a secure website host that uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). This is the first line of defense when it comes to all kinds of malware.
The second line of defense is all up to you. If you want your network to be fully protected against hackers, consider network penetration services. If you want to keep your e-commerce safe, consider having some factor-authentications integrated into your website. Security on the internet is more flexible and dependent on the kind of threat you want to avoid. So try out various security services and see which one works the best for you.
Secure Supply Line
A secure supply line is one of the major things that disrupted most traditional stores during the pandemic. Securing your supply line as a digital business should be one of your main priorities.
As an e-commerce store, you should have a look at your manufacturers and sellers. Always check with them from time to time. As a digital business that offers various services, you have to check-in with your clients. Give them different modes of payment so that your payments won’t be delayed. Make sure to inspect your pipeline to see if there any hiccups along the way.
These are different ways you can secure your supply line as a digital business. Traditional businesses fail to these things, and that costs them their business.
Here are some things you can learn from traditional businesses that experienced the worst things about the pandemic. It’s up to you to learn from them apply them to your digital business.
