With the ticking clock on TikTok in the US, millions of users, including small business owners, are struggling to figure out what to do.
One of them is Brandon Hurst, who says TikTok has changed his life thanks to his plant delivery business.
“It allows me to go live, share who I am, but it also makes it easier for people to buy,” Hurst said.
Since he started selling plants on TikTok last year, Hurst, better known as “Brandon the Plant Guy,” says he's tripled his business.
“We were able to sell 57,000 (plants) in the last year,” Hurst said.
His company is one of seven million small businesses on TikTok, according to the social media platform. TikTok also claims to support more than 224,000 American jobs.
“I have friends and family that work for me and help me package plants and orders,” Hurst said. “So that's beyond me now. That's a team of eight more people who would lose their jobs.”
The TikTok ban was signed into law by President Biden on Wednesday as part of a $95 billion foreign aid package. Under the new law, ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, is nine to 12 months old to sell the platform to an American owner, or TikTok faces being banned in the US
A ban would force many entrepreneurs to look for a new home. Meanwhile, TikTok plans to file a lawsuit over the ban in federal court.
“One of the reasons TikTok has become so popular with small businesses is because it has the ability, unlike any other platform, to ship products that fly off the physical and virtual shelves,” said Jasmine Enberg , analyst at data firm eMarketer. CBS News
Enberg believes Meta would be “one of the biggest beneficiaries” of a TikTok ban.
“Instagram Reels is the most natural fit” to replace TikTok, Enberg said. “It's not exactly the same. You can replicate the technology, but you can't replicate the culture.”
So where would Hurst turn his social media business in the event of a TikTok ban.
“I'm on Instagram, I've been doing business on other platforms,” Hurst said. “…There aren't that many places it could be sold. So I haven't thought about it yet, honestly. I'm not sure…what we would do.”
