How 2020 Has Affected Our Business
2020 has been a rollercoaster year. Covid-19 continues to affect everything: individuals, families, communities, conversations, businesses and economies across the world.
“Pivot” became the favorite word of the business community in March as the world went into lockdown to “flatten the curve”. Some industries were deemed essential. Others were ordered to shut the doors to save lives.
I am going to let you inside and share with you how 2020 has affected our business. This means I’m going to be vulnerable with you.
I’m willing to be vulnerable because I know you care about our business (that’s why you’re reading this post).
It’s easy to hear statements like “GDP growth declined 31.4% in the second quarter…” or “the economy grew by 38% in Q3…” That’s life on a macro level.
But we don’t live life on a macro level, we live life on a micro level.
I thought it would be helpful for the world to know how an individual small business, like ours, has been affected since the world changed in March 2020.
And please know, I am not writing this asking for help.
I appreciate all the support we’ve received from our amazing clients (who continue to be awesome to work with) and we are here to support them and their photo and video needs.
I wanted to write so you can know how Covid has impacted our business and, most likely, the businesses of the people you have around you. The journey that small business owners have been through the past 9 months (and for the foreseeable future) has been difficult. Small business owners need encouragement. In addition, they would want to serve you with what they do. You can support small of business when you buy their product or service and tell others about the great experience.
Though the businesses of friends and family you have may not look exactly like ours, the journey for small business owners has been similar. Hopefully this will help you relate as we close out 2020.
Also, as you’ll find out below, yes, there is bad news. But I promise, there is also good news in all of this.
I’m not going to share specific revenue numbers with the world, but I am going to share percentage of change from 2019 to 2020. Last year was a solid year for our business and we were predicting another year of growth in 2020.
So what’s the bad news?
I’ll give it to you straight: revenue is down for 2020. It’s down about 23% compared to 2019.
Yep, that’s not great, BUT it’s not anywhere near the bad we were imagining in March 2020 as the world economies were put into a coma.
The reason revenue is down is very specific for our business: the event and wedding industries have been hit the hardest in 2020 with events canceling or moving to fully online (are you sick of virtual events yet?).
Event photography revenue is down 82%. Wedding revenue is down 47%. Mosaic event revenue is down 92%.
Unfortunately there was not much that could be done following the shutdown in March. We simply had to hold on and see what happened with the virus and whether or not events and weddings would come back in 2020.
Unfortunately they did not and with increased fear of Covid, events and weddings will continue to be pushed later into 2021.
What about the good news you mentioned?
First of all, our families are healthy. Second, we’ve invested the extra time as a family to get to know our son Bruce in a unique way that we could not have imagined when he was born.
Even though these main pieces of our business are down, we also have two sectors that have boomed!
Video production (both filming and editing) has been part of our offering for a number of years.
In 2020 we have seen a 267% growth in video production.
More and more virtual events means more and more video production and editing. From local hospital systems, to political parties to non-profit organizations, we have been able to help craft impactful messages for our clients to meet their video needs.
In 2019 “marketing services” was added to our list of offerings. Little did we know that the business world would want/need digital marketing help more than ever in 2020.
Our marketing services has grown 640% year over year!
We are helping clients create content for their marketing needs and then using the power of email, display ads and referral strategies to increase leads and sales.
What’s Next?
2021 is just around the corner and though Covid-19 is still part of the conversations we are having, the business world has adjusted and is figuring out how to come to grips with new regulations, processes and safety measures for both employees and customers.
In all honesty we are excited about what the next 12-24 months will bring.
We have started a new venture, The Shipping Container Studio, where we can photograph portraits and families in a unique space (we love the minimalist vibe).
Events will come back. Weddings will come back.
We hope your business comes roaring back in 2021 as well!