What hath the Pandemic Wrought? |

So, we’ve been talking how President Biden is going to start having the IRS begin investigating pass-through businesses and other ventures the rich use to harbor their wealth. He is going to start to examine the net bank deposits of these firms- to see if there is any hiding of profits from the IRS.

Well that investigatory approach is exactly what Susan Woodward just did. She was commissioned by Intuit (the firm that owns TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Mint) to discern the effects of COVID-19 on the workings of small businesses.

Woodward examined some 1 million Quickbooks users across the USA.

By centering her research on net bank deposits (not including loans or government support), Woodward can truthfully determine how the pandemic has impacted smaller businesses. (Most Quickbooks users have 10 employees or less.)

One of the least surprising findings was what happened in April 2020. That first month of the quarantine. Small business revenue dropped 22% across the board. (Nationally, this would be equivalent to $4.6 billion less revenue.)

The good thing- about 2/3 of US business have managed to recover since the initial impact. But, it’s not uniform across the business sectors. The worst hit sectors were the recreation industry (now almost fully recovered), travel and tourism. And, those businesses in high density, urban areas (typically those on the East and West Coasts) were also among the most impacted. (Think Brooklyn, Manhattan, San Francisco.)

The really good thing? Those businesses that survived the initial onslaught from the pandemic are also those that are recovering quickly.

The list below depicts the most resilient businesses. The ones that actually thrived during the pandemic.