TikTok has been pivotal for small businesses and entrepreneurs, but an impending ban could put a halt on Valley companies using the social media juggernaut.
The clock is ticking down to the Jan. 19 deadline, when the app's parent company, China-based ByteDance, either has to sell TikTok in the U.S. or face being banned. The Business Journal spoke to the owners of several Arizona small businesses, who rely on the app to grow brand awareness and generate revenue, on what a potential ban could mean.
Ruben Trujillo, whose Goodyear-based Cafe Emporos has been active for four years on TikTok, has more than 42,000 followers, 1.6 million likes and nearly 2.7 million views on the app.
Founded in 2015, Cafe Emporos features handcrafted greeting cards with ready-to-brew pouches of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. It catapulted to success in 2020 while Trujillo was a full-time caregiver to his grandmother, thanks in part to a viral TikTok video.
Read more of this story from the Business Journal.
