While the pandemic has been responsible for a wave of business closures and layoffs, entrepreneurs have also been opening new businesses at a record-high level. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 4.4 million new companies were established in 2020, and most of these are small businesses.
People’s motives for starting a business in uncertain times are numerous, but over half (57 percent) cite wanting to be their own boss as the main factor. Some workers were laid off and can’t find work or don’t want to go back to their former jobs. Others want to continue working from home or want more flexibility in their work life. Some people launched a business idea they’ve had for a while or expanded a side hustle to become their main income.
New technologies such as video communication, social media, e-commerce, digital payment systems and DIY websites are giving entrepreneurs the ability to launch a business with low overhead, fast returns, and little or no staff. The pandemic also created new business opportunities as online ordering, delivery services and remote learning became widespread.
This isn’t a coastal phenomenon either. The most active region for new startups in America isn’t Silicon Valley or New York City, but the Deep South, in states such as Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
Here are 25 small- to medium-sized businesses that started during the pandemic and have grown and become profitable. We ranked them by revenue for the most recent year available, from lowest- to highest-earning.