Brandon Hurst, a small business owner who has seen tremendous success selling plants on TikTok, is among the millions of users facing uncertainty as the clock ticks on the app's potential ban in the U.S.
Hurst, known as "Brandon the Plant Guy," credits TikTok for tripling his business in the past year. He attributes this growth to the platform's unique ability to connect with customers through live streaming and facilitate easy purchases.
"It allows me to go live, share who I am, but it also makes it easy for people to buy," Hurst said.
The potential ban has raised concerns for Hurst and other entrepreneurs who rely on TikTok for their livelihoods. Hurst employs a team of eight people who would be affected by the ban.
"I have friends and family members that work for me and help package plants and orders," Hurst said. "So this goes beyond just me now. This is a team of eight other people that would lose their jobs."
While TikTok plans to challenge the ban in court, many businesses are exploring alternative platforms. Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at eMarketer, believes Instagram Reels could be a potential replacement, but acknowledges the difficulty of replicating TikTok's unique culture.
"Instagram Reels is the most natural fit," to replace TikTok, Enberg said. "It isn't exactly the same. You can replicate the technology, but you can't replicate the culture."
Hurst, while active on other platforms, acknowledges the challenge of finding a suitable alternative.
"There's just not that many places you can live sell. So I haven't thought about it yet, to be honest. I'm not sure...what we would do.