2021 Wrapped: Your Year in Small Business

With 2021 coming to an end, it’s time to pause and reflect on the successes, struggles, and lessons of the year. While you were still up against COVID, you also took on supply chain issues, inflation, and worker shortages. 

But there were some bright spots too—more businesses rebounded, you welcomed customers back, and you embraced a digital-first world. Not bad, eh?

No matter what your highs and lows, one thing is for certain—it’s been an eventful year. So let’s take a look back at the trends of 2021 and some ways you can take on whatever’s in store for the new year. We hope it’s a good one, and we’ll do our best to help you. 

The Top Small Business Challenges and Opportunities of 2021

Below, you’ll find a list of the biggest issues that shaped small business this year, according to the people who lived it—you. Over the course of the year, 300k+ of you shared your top challenges on everything from recovery to hiring, customers to COVID. 

And your responses have informed the media and the government what’s really going on with small business, even leading to policy change. So, thank you for sharing your ups and downs with us and continuing to prove that there’s "strength in small." 

Now, to the list!

1.  More of you were open for business

When we started 2020, about half of all small businesses were fully open with the same products and services as pre-pandemic, striking evidence of how COVID has affected you. 

But good news! That number increased, and now around 78% of businesses are open and operating. More open signs mean more business and show that recovery is progressing.

And that’s no small feat, given that other challenges popped up in 2021 to slow that recovery down. 

2. COVID still hurts, but you adjusted

As of December, 19% of small businesses were still experiencing a significant negative impact from COVID. That's down from 46% in January of this year. 

Overall, 42% continue to feel some effect from COVID—and that has gone down in December from 63% in November, largely due to a surge in consumer spending across many categories.

But this victory might be hard to hold onto, since Omicron is circling the globe, causing dramatic lifts in case counts. Sadly, it doesn’t seem that COVID is going anywhere soon. 

But you’re a resilient bunch and have adjusted to keep the lights on, from bringing your products and services online to pivoting the direction of your business entirely. Some are already trying to get ahead of Omicron, too.

3. You embraced digital as the way forward

Because of COVID challenges, digital became even more important. And you embraced it in 2021 as the way to keep your doors open and revenue flowing. 

Here’s what that looked like:

• 46% of you generated revenue through joining a virtual group or chat platform, hosting online classes, or running paid events.
• 36% of you met and made valuable business connections online, expanding your reach and broadening your audience.
• 70% of you participated in an online group once a week.

To help make the transition to digital easier, Alignable launched a few new features. In case you missed it, you can now run virtual events and hold one-to-one meetings right on Alignable. 

And many of you did. In fact, you hosted over 3,100 events on Alignable in 2021 on topics like networking for introverts and elevator pitches. Keep up the good work!

We also created a brand new solutions center to help you take on the challenges of our digital-first world. Take a look at the email marketing guide to find the right digital communication tools to drive new and repeat customers in the new year. 

Be on the lookout for even more ways to connect with your network, community, and customers in 2022.

4. You were hit hard by rising costs

One of the big issues of 2021 was rising costs. Everything from supplies to labor skyrocketed, putting a big strain on businesses that were already struggling to rebound from COVID. 

In fact, by November, it was your number one recovery concern—90% of you stated you were worried that inflation would delay your recovery. 

Teresa R. of Douglasville Books in Douglasville, GA sums up how rising prices affect her. “As prices rise, these take a bigger part of a family's income each month. My prices are as low as possible and I take no paycheck, but just staying open is a challenge.”

This was especially challenging because revenue still hasn’t bounced back, leaving many businesses low on cash. In November, for example, 42% of businesses had half or less of the monthly revenue they did pre-crisis.

To help, we launched an ongoing event series with the Small Business Administration. They broke down the remaining loan and grant programs, answered your questions, and offered their support on PPP loan forgiveness, EIDL, and more. If you have COVID relief questions, the Ask the SBA group is a great resource.

We also compiled additional funding sources in our financing guide, complete with easy ways to secure capital through online lenders like Lendio, Fundbox, and Biz2Credit. 

5. You faced hiring headaches

As vaccinations were more widespread and things started opening up, many of you were eager to get back to business. But you faced another challenge: Finding staff. About 94% of business owners who were looking to hire struggled to find the right employees. 

Almost half of you increased pay to attract or retain talent; others had to reduce their hours or take on more of the work themselves. 

To make hiring easier, we reviewed the best hiring resources for small business owners, complete with a $200 credit to use on Indeed. You can also post a job on Alignable so your network and community can help you fill open roles. 

Karen Scott, a certified purpose development and wholistic health coach, found her virtual manager through Alignable: 

She’s been awesome. Moving forward, I'm going to look to Alignable for future people that I need to hire for my business.

6. You leaned on each other

No one knows your struggles better than your peers, and with plenty of challenges to go around, you leaned on each other more than ever. 

70% of you participated in an online group at least once a week and 51% of you benefited from giving and receiving advice from other business owners. 

And over one million—yes, that’s right, million—of you found the support you needed by joining groups on Alignable. There are now nearly 2,000 groups on everything from specific industries to communities to special interests. 

Some of the most popular groups include Ask SMB Owners Anything, Elevator Pitches, Sales Strategies, and All About Networking. 

There are 2,000 discussions created in groups each week, so make sure to join in, share advice, ask questions, and get support. 

As Brian G. of BStrong Marketing in Souderton, PA puts it:

Being a member of a Group is like having your own personal advisory board of business consultants.

You looked ahead with optimism

In another whirlwind year packed with challenges, you innovated, adjusted, and paved a new path forward. And you did so with relentless optimism even under the toughest circumstances. 

Cheryl F., a music teacher in Santa Rosa, CA says:

I learned more about how flexible, resilient, determined, and tenacious I am.

That’s exactly what makes small business owners so special and why we’re so inspired by you every day. 

From all of us here at Alignable, thank you for sharing your year with us. We wish you the happiest holiday season and can’t wait to help make 2022 a better one for small business. Cheers!

What did you learn in 2021 that will help shape your 2022? What are your highs and lows from the year? Share in the comments.

For more small business trends and insight, check out:

• Alignable Research Center
• The Latest and Greatest Email Marketing Insights
• Show Me the Money: The Latest Small Biz Financing Struggles & Solutions