The TikTok Ban: Small Business Owners Scramble to Adapt

The clock is ticking on TikTok in the U.S., and millions of users, including small business owners, are scrambling to figure out what to do. One such user is Brandon Hurst, also known as “Brandon the Plant Guy,” whose plant delivery business has thrived on TikTok.

Hurst shared, “It allows me to go live, share who I am, but it also makes it easy for people to buy.” Since he started selling plants on TikTok last year, his business has tripled, with sales of 57,000 plants in the last year alone.

With the recent TikTok ban signed into law by President Biden as part of a $95 billion foreign aid package, ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-based owner, has nine to 12 months to sell the platform to an American owner or face being banned in the U.S. This decision puts Hurst and millions of other small businesses at risk of losing their platform for growth and sales.

Jasmine Enberg, an analyst for the data firm eMarketer, believes that Meta would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a TikTok ban, with Instagram Reels being a potential replacement. However, the unique culture and selling capabilities of TikTok may be hard to replicate on other platforms.

As entrepreneurs like Hurst face uncertainty about the future of their businesses on TikTok, they are left wondering where to pivot their social media presence. Hurst mentioned being on Instagram and other platforms but expressed uncertainty about the lack of live selling options available elsewhere.

The looming TikTok ban has left small business owners like Hurst in a state of flux, unsure of what the future holds for their businesses and livelihoods. As TikTok plans to file a lawsuit over the ban, the fate of millions of entrepreneurs hangs in the balance.