Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2012, and describes the Spanish economic crisis of 2012: fruit shop and bakery openings, rising gym demand, a 20-euro-a-month skating school, and the Diez Euros franchise expanding in the middle of the crisis.
The crisis has swept away thousands of shops, forcing some companies to pull down the shutters for good, and with that come layoffs. Faced with the lack of a job, some of those workers will have to create a job for themselves. There are many different kinds of business that, you could say, are working during the crisis.
On the one hand, there are what we call “refuge businesses”: small shops that can be started with very little investment. They aren’t profitable enough to make us rich, but they can certainly keep a family afloat. Although food businesses aren’t going through their best moment, partly because of the big supermarket chains, the fact is that fruit shops, bakeries and small shops selling basic goods are emerging as refuge businesses.
Bakeries and fruit shops in particular have been among the new businesses with the most openings during the crisis, because they need small premises and cheap rent, and you don’t need to bake the bread yourself. This kind of business can also sell other everyday essentials. The problem these shops face is growing competition, so the winner tends to be the one located in the area with the most foot traffic. The same would happen with fruit shops.
One advantage of this kind of shop is that if at some point you can’t make ends meet, at least you won’t run short of food.
Another kind of refuge business would be a hairdresser’s, since it also requires little investment, and even in times of crisis people keep using this kind of service.
Leisure, health and nutrition businesses
It has been shown that during a crisis people tend to look after their image, health and diet much more, and on top of that, those without a job need to find some entertainment that, ideally, isn’t too expensive.
Entertainment businesses are working. Two days ago I saw several entrepreneurs who have launched into this kind of venture. One of them set up a skating school for a fee of 20 euros a month. The customers admitted they came to this business because, having no job, they were bored, and this way at least they spent their time on other activities.
Other leisure businesses that are working are paintball sites, since all you need is an open or covered space and equipment for the customers, and that’s it. At least where I live, you have to book weeks in advance to enjoy a weekend of paintball.
Diet and nutrition products and advice aren’t feeling the crisis in the same way either. It’s a time to look after ourselves, and eating healthily costs more or less the same as eating badly. Losing weight saves us money on medicines and makes us feel more confident, and feeling attractive also helps when it comes to landing a job, which is why gyms are seeing greater demand.
As a result, sports nutrition products are growing thanks to the rising number of gym openings. And besides, summer is coming, and who doesn’t want to show off a better body?
Organic food shops are booming, although the biggest increase in sales today is happening in online shops specialising in organic products.
Clothes at good prices
They say clothing and footwear suffer most during a crisis, but that needn’t be the case if you offer good value for money. Take the Diez Euros franchise as an example, expanding in the middle of the crisis. Its secret: “All kinds of garments for 10 euros.”
Businesses aimed at luxury or at low prices?
Two kinds of business work: those that encourage saving rather than spending, and those aimed at a more select, well-off clientele, though the second kind would require more investment.
This crisis can be summed up perfectly in two facts: while car sales have collapsed, sales of luxury cars have soared. There’s business at both ends.
Good-value home-style takeaway food is also a good business, especially if you set it up in an area with university students, although it would also be aimed at families where both partners work and don’t have time to cook. The good thing is that profit margins are high.
Catering companies are also growing, because many restaurants now prefer to outsource the food to these companies for weddings or First Communions. That way they don’t neglect the rest of their customers or need to hire extra cooks and/or waiters for those dates.
The vending business model is working quite well, especially in companies that used to have a café downstairs that has now closed, so they turn to a coffee machine for employees, water machines or any other type of product.
In the same way, vending in premises used specifically for that purpose, if they’re well located, is a 24-hour shop that doesn’t need shop assistants.
Your business on the internet
We’re not going to talk about designing a new Facebook or anything like that, because, I insist on this figure, 8 out of 10 businesses opened on the internet usually fail, and what happens is that the few that succeed get a lot of hype.
We’re talking about using the internet in your profession. We’d highlight two sectors: online private lessons and virtual assistance for companies. The first is simple; you only have to offer the service. Today you can teach any subject to anyone anywhere in the world. If your speciality is languages, look how easy it is for you to break into a huge market.
As for virtual assistance, it’s a more innovative and less well-known business, which means it will be harder to make it known, but if you’re a pioneer in this service, success could be assured.
The coaching business
Personal, management and business coaches, even relationship coaches. This professional is in demand, and best of all, as a general rule both the companies and the individuals who use one end up satisfied. This role is becoming very fashionable in Spain, especially in companies, because it helps their employees bring out the best in themselves and their managers manage in the best possible way.
We now also have the relationship coach, who advises you both on how to dress and on how to behave to improve your relationships.
Savings for companies
Coming back to encouraging savings, any service a company can outsource to save money and one less headache is welcome. Services that companies often outsource include human resources departments and advisory services, and you could even outsource a sales department, although that’s harder to sell.
And finally there are businesses with compulsory demand, among which we would include driving schools, since you have to attend one to get a driving licence. The problem for these companies is also growing competition.
Funeral homes, since the crisis doesn’t stop many people from passing through them, and insurers, since insurance is compulsory for a car and practically compulsory for a home or business, bearing in mind that there’s also a large supply of this kind of product.
Still, as we always say, business is everywhere; it’s a matter of putting in enthusiasm, hope, courage and a touch of innovation or originality.
Further reading
- How to know which business or profession to choose
- 5 reasons not to look for a job and start a business instead
- 15 questions to evaluate a business idea
Featured image: moctavio from Miami, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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