From 'nightmare' to 'revolutionary': Businesses reflect on Covid

Some businesses were born in Covid, while the lockdowns marked the end of the road for others. The rest were forced to adapt to have any hope of surviving.

Five years on from the pandemic, the BBC has spoken to small business owners about both the opportunities and the fallout from the pandemic.

Myanara Wander, 24, played netball professionally before coronavirus hit, but when sporting events dried up she started a Caribbean takeaway business.

"We started as a little takeaway service in a small flat in Hatfield. We set up on Deliveroo and Uber Eats, and then people started asking for catering, and it grew from there."

In the past five years, MJ Eats has grown into an events and hospitality brand offering Caribbean and pan-Asian food, networking and job opportunities including model casting.

"We went from one employee to 50. We have models, chefs, kitchen staff, creative staff, event managers."

Mya's grandfather is co-founder, responsible for logistics and HR. He was also the company's first investor.

"He gave me the first £150, so we bought a fryer and some tongs," Mya says. "He is now the person who does the heavy lifting. It's great to have that alliance with somebody I love."

Mya says despite the company's growth, she's faced challenges along the way.

"There are very few people who want to give a young black girl five, 10, 20 grand to start a business with. So MJ Eats is funded primarily by myself."

The Confederation of British Industry estimates that some 800,000 companies were registered in the first year of the pandemic, a 22% increase compared with the previous year.

Mya believes the pandemic gave her the opportunity to start something new.

"I think Covid was revolutionary. If it didn't happen, I wouldn't have stopped playing netball, or taken the time to invest in myself. It went from a side hustle to this. It was never supposed to happen!"

Penny Burdett has been a knitwear designer for 38 years. Before Covid, she had a clothes shop based in Camden Lock.

"I was right near where the boats came in. I had my knitting machine there and made my work on the premises. People came from all over the world."

After multiple lockdowns were imposed, she gave up her shop because her turnover plummeted.

"Covid was a nightmare," Penny says. "We had to ask the market to shut down because there was nobody coming at all. The place was deserted."

She went from employing three to four people, including textiles students, to working alone in her home studio.

Penny now sells her clothes online but finds it "much harder than selling face-to-face because you can't show people how beautiful the garments are".

"Looking back at Covid, I think it was a double-edged sword," the designer says. "It made me feel I should be more innovative."

But Penny says that five years on from Covid, she feels "displaced".

Henal Chotai opened the Red Cup Cafe in Harrow with his wife Reena in 2015.

"It was a dream for me and my wife. It was our baby - we were here seven days a week."

When Covid hit, the couple went into action to help the local community.

"We gave out biscuits, sweets and care packages to nurses, doctors and the ambulance service. We also fundraised."

The cafe also signed up to the Eat Out to Help Out programme, but Henal felt the scheme was "chaotic".

"Everybody was taking advantage of it and we were trying to observe all the rules."

Henal and his wife decided to close the cafe in 2022, due to the financial fallout from the pandemic.

They took out a government loan, which they paid back, but rising bills made it financially unviable for the business to continue.

"We managed to get through Covid but with the increases in prices, increase in rent... it was unsustainable. We had to put our heart to one side, and put a business head on."

Five years on, Henal has mixed feelings.

"It brings back memories of a sad time, of not knowing what was going to happen next," he says.

"I look at the joyous moments that we had, the hundreds of people per day that we helped. It was a great opportunity."

Henal has changed career and is now a life coach.

"I realised I had a good rapport with people and I was able to help them with their lives. I still want to help out the community."

Henal believes the hospitality industry needs "drastic help".

But with looming tax rises in April, businesses are facing further financial challenges.

Henal says he wants the government "to reverse their decision on National Insurance, reduce VAT, look at the business rates".

According to research by CGA and AlixPartners, there were almost exactly the same number of hospitality premises in 2024 as 12 months earlier.

Karl Chessell, from CGA, says that "after thousands of net closures during Covid and the period of high inflation that followed, 2024 brought some welcome respite" but he warns "there was a constant turnover of sites, with a total of 4,078 closures and 4,085 openings. In other words, an average of 11 venues a day closed their doors."

The Federation of Small Businesses wants the government to "set a target of supporting and encouraging 500,000 more small businesses to exist by January 2028 across the UK".

It believes this could help take the small-business community back to its "pre-pandemic size of six million across the UK", would reduce "economic inactivity" and "cut the benefits bill".

A government spokesperson said it recognised the "vital importance of small businesses to our economy" and was "protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise and late payments, and capping corporation tax".