Small Businesses Brace Themselves For Potentially Disruptive Tiktok Ban

A looming TikTok ban could affect the millions of small businesses that use the short-video social media app to help them grow their business. Desiree Hill, owner of Crown’s Corner Mechanic in Conyers, Georgia, started her business solo as a mobile mechanic. Sharing videos of her work on TikTok helped spread the word and she became so popular she was able to open a 9,000 square foot brick and mortar shop with five employees 18 months ago. “Every day I get at least two to three customers that have seen me on TikTok, watched my videos and wanted to become a customer,” she said. Though TikTok has been around only since 2016, small business owners use the platform in a variety of ways, from growing a customer base to advertising and marketing, as well as selling goods directly from the site. According to TikTok’s own estimates, small businesses on TikTok would lose more than $1 billion in revenue in a single month if the ban goes into effect. The Justice Department ordered the app’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok or face a U.S.