In the face of Covid-19 job loss and lockdown boredom, many Bermudians started new businesses.

Five years on, many of those entrepreneurs are no longer reachable. Their telephone numbers have been disconnected and their social-media pages have not been updated in months or years.

Brand and marketing expert Nikki Fagan believes some of those businesses simply reached the end of their life span.

Almost half of all new businesses fail by the five-year mark.

During the pandemic, Ms Fagan ran marketing and public relations company Brand Lion and online plus-sized clothing line Rude & Fluffy. In October 2022, she closed Rude & Fluffy in favour of taking a full-time job as head of brand development and communications at Skyport, the firm that runs LF Wade International Airport.

“My businesses were successful,” she said. “It was just that I could not run them and work at the airport. I still do a bit of Brand Lion, but mostly consulting.”

Ms Fagan saw consumer behaviour change during the pandemic.

“Customers were open to things they had not seen before, such as the delivery of goods,” she said.

Half a decade on, buying habits have shifted again.

“People are back to wanting to go into a store, touch things and try them on,” she said. “During the pandemic, people thought they were fine being isolated — but it turns out, people need people.”

Ms Fagan felt shoppers do not want to use delivery services as much as they once did, but still need it as an option.

“Customer expectations have also risen,” she said. “Their expectations of us have forced us to be smarter as entrepreneurs. It is not a casual thing any more. People expect you to return phone calls and act like any other business.”

She would like to go back to running her own enterprise one day, but is too occupied with her full-time job at the moment.

Sabriuna Wilkinson started Nurture Laiche shortly before the world health crisis began and is still going strong.

She sells cookies with ingredients that help new mothers with lactation, such as flaxseed.

“Business has had its ups and downs, but I have not had a quiet week,” she said. “I still run Nurture Laiche out of my home.”

With the cost of living rising, she has had to put her prices up.

The biggest lesson she has learnt is to keep pushing.

In 2022, she won $25,000 in the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s Wave of Opportunity Pitch competition, run in collaboration with Global Atlantic Re.

“That made a big difference,” she said. “That allowed me to upgrade my machinery, mixtures and packaging.”

Bermuda’s population hit a record low in 2022 in the wake of a decline in birthrate.

Despite this, Ms Wilkinson is still seeing traffic.

“I have been with some clients through three babies,” she said.

She is now in the midst of negotiating to sell her products overseas.

Nioka Francis started Bluelily Consulting in 2021, providing counselling and guidance to people at the end of their lives.

Her business survived the pandemic, but she is finding today’s business climate difficult.

“With the high cost of living, and the price of food rising, many people are struggling,” she said. “They are looking at what is most economical for them.”

She has had to evolve and now sells urns for humans and pets.

“I offered a couple of seminars last year,” she said. “As soon as I started charging, people were backing off. Now, I feel like I am not a company getting money, but more of a volunteer.”

However, she loves what she does and intends to stick with it.

“I am looking to help people, so I will still do what I have to do,” she said.

Jamillah Lodge, BEDC director of communications, said ups and downs are the nature of being in business.

“As an entrepreneur, the excitement is to figure out how to make adjustments and change as needed,” she said. “Longevity depends on the flexibility of an entrepreneur and their response to it.”

Ms Lodge loves her job at the BEDC because of the eternal optimism of entrepreneurs.

“There was a worldwide pandemic and so many new businesses were born,” she said. “People are still coming up with ideas for new business. There is no shortage of people with great ideas and the risk appetite to try and make them happen.”