How COVID19 has Made us Entrepreneurs
Transcriber: omar idmassaoud
Reviewer: Maurício Kakuei Tanaka
So I know you’re probably bored of hearing
about people talk about COVID right now,
but who knew it would
have made us entrepreneurs?
The pandemic has turned
people’s outlook on life inside out,
and heavily impacted area was, of course,
the economy and the workplace followed.
The business world
has changed as we know it,
and as the lockdowns rolled in,
everything seemed to suffer.
However, entrepreneurship has escalated
and adapted to the new world.
The definition of an entrepreneur is:
“An individual who creates
their own business
bearing financial risk
and hope for profit.”
They are commonly seen as an innovator,
a source of new ideas, goods,
services and, of course, business.
Entrepreneurs find
challenges exhilarating,
and risks are part of their everyday job.
Instead of seeing this barrier,
they’ll see an opportunity.
So perhaps in their eyes,
the pandemic was seen as an opportunity.
During COVID, there’s been a massive surge
in the amount of start-up businesses.
And in a study,
according to researchers at the Peterson
Institute for International Economics,
it was found that Americans started
4.4 million businesses last year.
That is a 24 percent increase
to that of the previous year,
which shows that businesses
are at an all-time high.
It is also relevant and apparent
that as everyone was trapped at home,
many businesses were set up online,
and so the online business community
has also expanded.
This time now spent online
has meant that …
the power of advertising
on social media has expanded,
and people and businesses
are now able to reach a wide audience
with more efficiency.
Also, without the cost of running
a shop on the high street
or having a stall at a market,
having no business set up online
can actually be overall
more cost-efficient.
And now, speaking of online,
have you noticed your screen time
increase over the last year?
Well, the average adult in the UK
now spends over four hours a day online,
which is just under a quarter
of an adult’s waking day.
These four hours seen in 2020
is in comparison to three hours in 2018.
And this is an absolute record as well
and has been the most online growth ever.
And now that adults
have spent more time online,
it means that businesses
are able to attract more attention,
and thus they can obtain more growth.
So through an increase in risk, time,
creativity, and, of course, online growth,
businesses and entrepreneurship
is clearly on the rise.
Now, this rise in entrepreneurship
can be seen from a closer
to home perspective,
as students within
our own school community
have set up their own businesses
during the lockdowns.
One example being Olivia’s Custom Designs,
where she uses her love
for art and fashion and painting
to customize shoes and sells them.
And, of course, she’s even collaborated
with social media influencers,
which is a great achievement.
And another example is Focaccia and More,
where Soleil has used her love
for making focaccia.
And she’s even given 25 percent
of her earnings to the NHS.
So, these are just two examples of people
within our own community
who have set up businesses online,
and they even have
large social media followings,
which shows that the lockdowns
and the pandemic
have actually done very good.
And, of course, the pandemic has had
devastating impacts on our lives.
And it really has changed
people’s way of living.
But I find it interesting
to look at the other side
and see just how a bit of boredom
allows this surge and creative ideas.
And now business applications
are at an all-time high.
And this explosion in business
really shows people to be true risk-takers
and shows that they have innovation
and initiative and work.
So, as the pandemic comes to an end,
I hope that creativity is still evident
in business and, of course, in the world.
And so whenever you’re bored
or if you have a bit of time
on your hands,
I hope you can find
your spark of creativity.
Because you never know,
maybe you’ll be the next entrepreneur.
(Applause)
(Cheers)