Editor’s Word: This story initially appeared on Forbes Advisor.
In 2008, on the top of the Nice Recession, Maurisa Potts made a daring transfer. She give up her job as advertising and marketing director of Northern Virginia’s Crystal Metropolis Enterprise Enchancment District to launch her personal advertising and marketing and PR agency.
“Of us thought I used to be loopy,” Potts says now.
However she might have really been loopy good.
Fifteen years after exiting her full-time job in Crystal Metropolis, Potts is flourishing as founder and CEO of Noticed MP, based mostly in New Alexandria, an unincorporated neighborhood south of Alexandria, Virginia. She and her two full-time staff function the advertising and marketing and PR agency.
Not solely has Potts confirmed to be a recession-resilient entrepreneur, however she’s immersed in a small enterprise sector that’s one of the recession-proof within the U.S. for 2023, in accordance with a Forbes Advisor evaluation.
10 Most Recession-Proof Companies in 2023
Utilizing information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and indication of recognition from Google search traits, Forbes Advisor assessed 60 small-business varieties and decided which ones are essentially the most and least recession-proof in 2023.
We assigned every enterprise kind a rating based mostly on its efficiency throughout a number of classes: Development in variety of companies throughout the Nice Recession and the latter a part of the pandemic, development in wages throughout the identical durations, and estimated startup prices.
PR companies like Potts’ recorded at the least some development in all classes, a low startup price (beneath $10,000) and excessive wage development throughout the Nice Recession (+23%). However, in accordance with our evaluation, bookstores shine brightest amongst recession-proof small companies.
At 43%, bookstores noticed the most important enhance within the variety of companies throughout the latter a part of the pandemic. Coupled with a average startup price, bookstores additionally loved regular wage development throughout each the Nice Recession (+13%) and the latter a part of the pandemic (+16%), making such a enterprise essentially the most recession-proof of all.
In 2022, The New York Instances reported that greater than 300 new impartial bookstores had popped up throughout the nation in the previous few years, calling this “a shocking and welcome revival after an early pandemic stoop.”
The Monetary Instances attributes the recession-proof nature of the e-book enterprise to the truth that books are comparatively low cost “and yield a powerful bang for his or her buck when it comes to leisure.”
1. Bookstores
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -10.02%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 13.02%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 42.75%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 16.33%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $75,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 55
2. PR companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: 4.66%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 22.87%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 13.90%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 6.64%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 51
3. Inside design companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -11.08%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 30.31%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 8.24%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 8.34%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 50
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4. Staffing companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -3.02%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 15.83%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 19.64%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 13.88%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 48
5. Advertising consulting companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: 7.68%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 10.20%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 20.36%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 5.01%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 47
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6. Meals vans
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: 13.38%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 4.55%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 22.37%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 11.62%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $50,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 46
7. Automobile rental companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -7.05%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 14.67%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: -3.39%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 30.78%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $100,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 45
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8. Graphic design companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -3.48%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 22.37%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 8.67%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 8.95%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 45
9. Promoting companies
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: -1.38%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 5.52%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 25.50%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 11.92%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 44
10. Residential property managers
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in variety of companies: 7.08%
- Nice Recession (2008-2010) Change in common weekly wages: 6.51%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in variety of companies: 6.93%
- Late Pandemic (2021-2022) Change in common weekly wages: 15.39%
- Estimated common startup price: Underneath $10,000
- Whole Rating (out of 100): 44
Methodology
We used information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to assign every enterprise kind a rating within the following classes:
- Share change in variety of companies and common weekly wages throughout the Nice Recession (measured from Q1 2008 to This fall 2010)
- Share change within the variety of companies and common weekly wages throughout the latter a part of the pandemic (measured from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022).
- Estimated common startup price (compiled from a variety of industry-specific sources and designed to give attention to minimal ranges of capital wanted to start out a sure enterprise kind).