Role
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Business Formula
A project that highlights my entrepreneurial and strategic skills.
Technologies
Vimeo, Canva, Figma, Google Analytics
Purpose
Market research, business opportunity evaluation
Problem
43% of small businesses saw their revenue decline
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the small business community was left empty-handed and hopeless. With quarantine restrictions locking their valued customers away for months on end, small business owners were faced with onerous decisions to leave their hard work and passions behind. Many small businesses across various industries, from restaurants to retail stores, have been forced to close their doors indefinitely. The strict lockdown measures and social distancing protocols have significantly reduced customer footfall and disrupted supply chains, causing a sharp decline in revenue for these businesses. Moreover, the financial burdens of ongoing rents, utility bills, and payroll expenses, coupled with limited government assistance, have pushed many small businesses to the brink of bankruptcy. The loss of livelihood for entrepreneurs and their employees has been staggering, as the small business sector plays a vital role in local economies, providing jobs and contributing to community development. As I delved more into this problem, I found that according to recent statistics, over 200,000 small businesses have been forced to shut down. According to a recent study, approximately 31% of small businesses reported being forced to shut down operations temporarily, resulting in significant financial distress. Moreover, nearly 43% of small businesses saw their revenue decline, as consumer spending plummeted due to lockdown measures and economic uncertainty. These statistics highlight the harsh reality that COVID-19 has posed a significant threat to the survival and sustainability of small enterprises, leaving long-standing consequences on communities and economies worldwide.
Solution
Driven to intertwine my talents with my passion for helping my community, I founded Business Formula, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting small businesses through the power of digital technology. We provide a service in which we create professional promotional videos that allow small businesses to showcase their products to their online customers, giving them the opportunity to increase their online presence through video marketing. Each video is 100% customized and free of charge, giving small businesses the opportunity to market their products/services with no financial burden. By working with us, small businesses have built trust with their customers and driven sales.
50 + small businesses from 17 states have been supported through the efforts of Business Formula.
launch process
Pain Point Discovery
I delved into pain point discovery to understand the struggles of small businesses in effectively marketing themselves online. Through extensive research and direct interactions with small business owners, it became evident that many lacked the knowledge and resources to navigate online platforms for marketing purposes. I conducted user interviews with small businesses all over the Downtown Portland district, allowing me to gain personal insight into how this pandemic is directly affecting their operations. The uncertainty and rapid shift towards digitalization posed a significant challenge for these businesses, leading to a lack of online visibility and engagement with their target audience. This pain point discovery highlighted the critical need to provide tailored and accessible solutions to help small businesses effectively market themselves on online platforms during the pandemic.
Design & Development
After identifying a major gap in the market and understanding our customers’ pain points, we started the finalization of the nonprofit’s video-making process and operations. I created a set of 10 promotional videos as templates for future videos and documented our video-making process for consistency throughout the team. After finalizing operational decisions, we started the development of our website, which was the core of our operations. Through extensive website development, we launched our website, allowing small businesses to send in video requests officially.
Launch & Feedback
Our initial marketing strategy was to personally visit small businesses at our local mall to gauge interest. With a couple of flyers and our computers in our hands, we traversed this mall, as we believed that door-knocking would be the most efficient way to get patrons. We talked to most of the owners of that mall, but none of them were interested in our services. We went home devastated that day, as we were under the impression that small businesses would be leaping towards an opportunity for free marketing during a tough time like the pandemic. That’s when we decided to go back to the mall next week to get feedback as to why small businesses did not see value in our nonprofit organization. After having in-depth conversations with a couple of owners, it was clear that this set of small businesses just had no problem getting customers online. They had an established following on social media, and have been selling consistently on their Shopify websites. That is when we realized that we were targeting the wrong group of small businesses. We were targeting small businesses from rich communities, not small businesses with little access to resources. This is when we decided to start phase 2 of Business Formula.
Revise & Relaunch
As our previous marketing strategy of door-knocking was unsuccessful, I created different marketing campaigns through direct marketing techniques to target struggling small businesses. Our largest marketing campaign was through Facebook. We joined more than 200 small business Facebook groups and posted our offerings directly to the group, which gained lots of traction. Small business owners use these groups to share advice and post resources to help grow their businesses, so by utilizing this platform, we were able to gain traction throughout the country. Our other marketing campaign consisted of partnering with Oregon’s magazines, radio shows, and other nonprofit organizations to market our services more locally. After the relaunch of our nonprofit organization, we witnessed immense traction on our website.
Takeaways
This was one of the projects that I was able to see from start to finish. I watched this nonprofit go from being an idea on a piece of paper to a product that small businesses across the country are grateful for. I’ve held various leadership roles in middle and high school, but this role was one that pushed me beyond my limits, and allowed me to understand who I truly am as a leader. As stated above, we went through a lot of obstacles and roadblocks throughout the way, but I showed resilience and determination because I believed in the value of my project. I believed that this was something worth pursuing, as it had the potential to help a community that was overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Constantly revise and get feedback from customers
Revising and seeking feedback from customers is essential for the growth and success of a nonprofit organization. By actively engaging with the community it serves, any nonprofit can gain valuable insights into the changing needs and preferences of its target audience. Regular revisions based on feedback demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement, fostering trust and credibility within the community. By constantly conducting user interviews, I was able to quickly adapt our services to the ongoing changes in the market, making us resilient to outside factors.
Always have a clear vision
Always know who your target audience is, what your nonprofit’s beliefs and values are, and how you plan to solve a critical problem in society. By constantly reminding yourself of this vision, your decisions will be better aligned, allowing for effective operations.