If all you knew of the business climate during the COVID-19 pandemic was what you saw in the news, you would think it was all gloom and doom, but the truth isn’t quite so simple.  The shutdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reopen businesses safely have certainly presented an unprecedented set of challenges, but to focus exclusively on the obstacles faced by small business owners only tells one side of the story.  Alabama small business owners have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with their usual resourcefulness and resilience, and their biggest challenges might be something other than what you expect.  When deciding what kind of support your business needs to get through the next phase of the pandemic and where to find this support, an Alabama small business attorney can be a great help.

What Alabama Small Business Owners Need the Most to Help Them Survive the Pandemic

This month, the Alabama chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business published the results of a survey of small business owners throughout the state.  It found that, while things are hardly rosy for businesses, many companies have been able to afford to keep their employees on the payroll even as the pandemic has restricted their activities, whether because of official regulations or because of practical concerns.  There is more to running a business than simply paying employees, and business owners have faced other challenges, even though the grant and loan programs available to them have softened the blow.  Here are some of the key findings of the survey:

  • 75 percent of the business owners surveyed said that their companies said that they had applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.  The report published on AL.com did not specify what percentage of the business owners surveyed had received PPP loans or how much money they had received.
  • 22 percent of survey participants said that they would apply for a second PPP loan if and when a second round of funding becomes available.
  • 15 percent of recipients have applied for Revive Alabama Grants.  The report did not say how many participants had received the grants.
  • 27 percent of recipients said that they have had to reduce their employees’ hours or furlough employees as a result of the pandemic.  The report did not specify how many of those respondents had also received PPP loans.
  • 80 percent of respondents had experienced shortages or delays in products they ordered during the pandemic.

The results of the survey indicate that federal and state grant and loan programs have spared Alabama business owners and employees that widespread loss of income that everyone has feared.  Even though the PPP program has had its glitches, business owners have certainly benefited from it and fared better than they would have without it.  Best of all PPP loans are forgivable in some circumstances, and new guidance on loan forgiveness is forthcoming.

Let Us Help You Today

An Alabama business & corporate litigation lawyer can help you make decisions about grants, loans, and other ways of keeping your business solvent during the pandemic.  Contact Cloud Willis & Ellis for help today.

Resource:

al.com/business/2020/10/half-of-alabama-small-businesses-would-apply-for-another-federal-loan-survey-says.html