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HomeBusinessHow some small companies have survived the Covid pandemic with out them

How some small companies have survived the Covid pandemic with out them


The storefront of Mark Shriner’s small enterprise, The Espresso Home, in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.

Courtesy: Mark Shriner

Mark Shriner wanted assist. It was spring 2020, and his espresso store in Lincoln, Nebraska, was in danger because the Covid-19 pandemic compelled small companies like his to shut their doorways.

So he sought help from the federal authorities’s Paycheck Safety Program, which was supposed to maintain small companies afloat because the virus unfold and prospects stayed residence.  

All three of his functions have been rejected. 

“I attempted the whole lot,” mentioned Shriner, who owns The Espresso Home in downtown Lincoln. “Each time, the federal government mainly instructed me, ‘Powerful luck, honey.'”

PPP loans have been designed to maintain staff on payroll and cushion the financial blow from the pandemic. Companies that did not get the help, like Shriner’s, needed to get artistic to remain afloat by a disaster that has upended enterprise fashions for complete industries.

This system, which expired final Could, doled out practically 11.5 million loans price greater than $790 billion, in response to the most recent data from the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration, the federal company that assured PPP loans authorised by banks and different taking part lenders.

The SBA mentioned it had no information on what number of PPP mortgage functions have been rejected. SBA spokeswoman Shannon Giles mentioned the company “doesn’t have particulars on PPP mortgage disbursements” and solely receives sure info from lenders. 

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Regardless of being rejected for the PPP loans, The Espresso Home managed to maintain its doorways open. CNBC additionally spoke with the homeowners of three different small companies — a online game store in New Jersey, an natural co-op in Wisconsin and a spa in Colorado — that went by an identical ordeal.

The homeowners have been capable of assist their companies survive by counting on different mortgage and grant packages, altering their enterprise fashions, discovering group assist and even promoting private belongings. Now, they’ve braced themselves because the pandemic is about to enter its third 12 months and brings a brand new wave of Covid instances pushed by the extremely contagious omicron variant. 

“We have been capable of climate the storm by innovating and studying new methods to achieve our prospects,” Shriner mentioned. “However it was additionally the staff that stayed round to work and the individuals of our metropolis that supported us. They have been an enormous a part of serving to us get by till now.”

PPP controversy and rejections

President Joe Biden visits W.S. Jenks & Son, a Washington, D.C., ironmongery shop that benefited from a Paycheck Safety Program mortgage, on March 9, 2021.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Photos

The PPP, first handed by Congress in March 2020 as a part of the $2 trillion CARES Act, supplied a lifeline to many small companies throughout the pandemic. However controversy has additionally adopted this system.

The general public erupted in outrage after the PPP’s preliminary $350 billion allotment ran dry in lower than two weeks. Scrutiny piled up following the revelation that many giant firms secured loans whereas hundreds of small companies fell by the cracks.

Shake Shack, automotive retailer AutoNation and the holding firm of Ruth’s Chris Steak House have been among the many 440 public firms awarded $1.39 billion in PPP loans throughout the first few months of the pandemic, in response to Securities and Exchange Commission filings data compiled by FactSquared, a political and media information agency. Different giant entities that acquired loans included the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

Amid stress, a number of of the businesses returned a total of $436 million in PPP loans, in response to FactSquared. The SBA additionally issued new guidance that made it much less probably for a “public firm with substantial market worth and entry to capital markets” to obtain support from this system.

A nationwide Federal Reserve survey of companies with fewer than 500 staff discovered 20% of nonemployer companies acquired not one of the PPP funding they sought. Nonemployer companies, which haven’t any staff apart from the proprietor, make up 81% of all small companies within the U.S., in response to the survey launched in August. It additionally discovered that 4% of companies which have at the very least one worker apart from the proprietor acquired not one of the PPP funding they sought. 

PPP loans have been topic to fraud, as nicely. 

The Division of Justice has led a crackdown on fraud associated to Covid-19 aid packages such because the PPP. To date, the division has prosecuted greater than 150 defendants in practically 100 legal instances and seized over $75 million from “fraudulently obtained” PPP loans, it said earlier this month. In December, the U.S. Secret Service mentioned practically $100 billion from a wide range of Covid aid packages, together with PPP, had been stolen.

This system’s early flaws significantly annoyed small enterprise homeowners resembling Ashlie Ordonez, who didn’t obtain any PPP support after she utilized.

“I get so indignant once I look again at how the federal government stored denying me once I had nothing shut to those gigantic firms that acquired loans,” mentioned Ordonez, the founder and proprietor of The Naked Bar, which provides waxing, lash therapies and facials in Denver.

Ashlie Ordonez, the founder and proprietor of The Naked Bar in Denver.

Supply: Ashlie Ordonez

She signed a four-year lease to open The Naked Bar simply weeks earlier than the World Well being Group declared the spread of Covid-19 to be a pandemic in March 2020. The disaster pushed again the spa’s opening date to Could of that 12 months.  

It meant her enterprise didn’t begin working by Feb. 15, 2020, an eligibility requirement for this system. Ordonez utilized for PPP loans twice however was rejected each occasions. She mentioned the federal governmentmainly instructed me I did not endure any loss” as a result of the spa didn’t have any income earlier than this system’s eligibility date. 

“I used to be just about instructed that I knew that we have been in a pandemic so I should not have opened a enterprise,” Ordonez mentioned, including that she needed to let a lot of her employees go in 2020. “It was a smack within the face as a result of no person knew in February that the enterprise closures would last more than two weeks.”

Heather Herdman additionally utilized for PPP loans twice. She bumped into a difficulty just like Ordonez’s as a result of her natural co-op, Candy Willow Wellness, was “comparatively new.”

Herdman opened her De Pere, Wisconsin, storefront in November 2019, three months earlier than the February eligibility date. However Herdman mentioned her makes an attempt to safe PPP loans failed as a result of her enterprise couldn’t reveal financial loss. 

“I did not qualify for something as a result of I may solely write that we have been open for six weeks in 2019,” Herdman mentioned. “The whole lot on the appliance gave the impression to be based mostly in your 2019 info, however we weren’t open lengthy sufficient to have the ability to examine my income from 2019 to 2020.”

In response to a query concerning the eligibility of companies that opened in late 2019 and early 2020, Giles, the SBA spokeswoman, mentioned the company is “administering the legislation as written.” She mentioned solely debtors that have been working by the February eligibility date may get first-draw PPP loans.

The Espresso Home’s Shriner additionally mentioned the PPP’s eligibility necessities barred him from receiving hundreds of {dollars} in loans.

He mentioned it got here down to 1 field on the PPP application that requested whether or not a enterprise or any of its homeowners have been “presently concerned in any chapter.” Shriner filed for Chapter 13 in 2018 following a divorce and was nonetheless making court-ordered debt funds, so he marked “sure.”

His functions have been rejected consequently.

Shriner was denied resulting from an SBA rule published in April 2020 that explicitly prohibited companies in chapter from taking part within the PPP. After battling a flurry of courtroom instances towards such firms, the SBA launched new guidance a year later that made companies with court-approved chapter plans eligible for a PPP mortgage. This meant Shriner, who had a court-approved Chapter 13 plan, would have had an opportunity to obtain a mortgage. 

Shriner heard concerning the new steerage and utilized for a PPP mortgage after it was issued. However he mentioned his native financial institution “nonetheless mentioned they could not assist me.” 

“I attempted and could not get previous the financial institution,” Shriner mentioned, noting that the financial institution processed probably the most loans in his metropolis. “I believed I had a shot.” 

Adrienne and Justin Brandao, the homeowners of Aspect Scrollers

Supply: Justin Brandao

Different small enterprise homeowners, resembling Justin and Adrienne Brandao, mentioned they didn’t hear again about their PPP mortgage functions in any respect. The couple utilized throughout the first spherical of this system after Aspect Scrollers, their online game store in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was compelled to shut its doorways from March to late June 2020. 

“We by no means heard something, so the primary time was the final time,” Justin Brandao mentioned. “I do know there was a second spherical, however at that time we already discovered different methods to get cash to assist ourselves.”

Separate mortgage and grant packages

Earlier than the pandemic hit, the Brandaos spent just a few thousand {dollars} on Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Energy buying and selling playing cards, a brand new product they believed would generate sufficient gross sales to maintain their enterprise for a number of months. 

However the playing cards launched on the identical day that Bergen County, which incorporates East Rutherford, went into lockdown, leaving the couple with no strategy to promote them — or for Aspect Scrollers to make any income in any respect.

“The timing was horrible. We spent a lot cash on what was purported to be the most popular product of the season, after which the whole lot shut down,” Justin Brandao mentioned. “Kind of, we have been scrounging round for money.”

After listening to no phrase about their PPP functions, the couple took out two loans from Sq. Capital, which lends to small companies that use the cost processing providers of its mother or father firm, Block, previously referred to as Sq.. Sq. Capital, which individually from its personal lending program was additionally a PPP lender, routinely deducts a hard and fast share of a enterprise’ each day card gross sales till its mortgage sum is repaid, in response to its website. 

The Brandaos have absolutely repaid their first $4,000 mortgage and have practically paid off a second mortgage of $6,500. They’ve put the cash towards steep payments for hire, utilities and web, in response to Justin Brandao. 

“We needed to discover other ways to get cash,” he mentioned. “And we ended up actually leaning on that mortgage from our cost processor.” 

Shriner, the proprietor of The Espresso Home, additionally took out two loans from Sq. Capital after receiving PPP rejections. Sq. Capital deducted roughly $200 to $300 from the cafe’s card gross sales every day to repay $107,000 in loans.

Shriner mentioned he used the mortgage cash to maintain The Espresso Home working on a restricted foundation and to pay employees throughout the first 12 months of the pandemic.

Different enterprise homeowners resembling Herdman, the proprietor of Candy Willow Wellness, turned to a different federal Covid aid program. Whereas she had no luck with PPP, she was authorised for a $3,000 Financial Harm Catastrophe Mortgage in April 2021 after making use of twice. 

I simply went into survival mode as a model new enterprise.

Ashlie Ordonez

proprietor, The Naked Bar in Denver

The EIDL program was established in March 2020 after the U.S. and its territories have been declared a catastrophe space as a result of pandemic. Beneath this system, the SBA authorised and funded about 3.8 million low-interest emergency loans price greater than $316 billion to assist companies meet working bills, in response to the company’s latest data. 

Herdman mentioned she put the mortgage towards offsetting her rents, that are the “largest expense” of working Candy Willow Wellness. Her storefront alone prices $1,700 per 30 days, and she or he pays an extra $350 every month to make use of a industrial kitchen house. 

Earlier within the pandemic, Herdman additionally acquired two grants from a Covid enterprise aid program run by an area nonprofit group in partnership with town of De Pere. This system gives grants as much as $2,500 to eligible De Pere companies to attempt to fill the gaps in federal packages just like the PPP. 

Herdman used the primary grant to pay for a month of hire, which helped to maintain her head above water when prospects have been scarce, she mentioned. She used the second to restock Candy Willow Wellness’ stock of herbs and teas. 

“At that time in 2020, no person was coming within the door, and I needed to make hire,” Herdman mentioned. “The grants have been essential in serving to us get by that first 12 months of the pandemic. It actually saved me.”

In contrast to the opposite enterprise homeowners, Ordonez didn’t obtain any funds from separate mortgage packages. She mentioned she took issues into her personal arms to maintain The Naked Bar alive and its employees on payroll.

She bought her wedding ceremony ring for $12,000 and put the proceeds plus stimulus cash straight into the spa.

“I simply went into survival mode as a model new enterprise,” Ordonez mentioned. When requested if she’d contemplate making use of for loans or grants once more, Ordonez mentioned, “I feel I am executed with that disappointment.”

Altering enterprise fashions

State-ordered shutdowns and social distancing necessities prevented many companies from working like they usually would, particularly throughout the early levels of the pandemic. 

This prompted some to change their enterprise fashions in an effort to achieve their buyer bases. A 2020 survey launched by The UPS Store discovered that 41% of companies with fewer than 500 staff “modified or pivoted their companies” throughout the first few months of the pandemic. About 65% mentioned they have been doing extra enterprise on-line, 28% responded that they have been shifting to e-commerce, and 15% mentioned they have been providing curbside supply.

Candy Willow Wellness, as an illustration, supplied solely natural merchandise when it first opened. However Herdman determined to leap on the delivery and curbside pickup craze that boomed when indoor eating and procuring grew to become prohibited throughout the pandemic. 

Heather Herdman, proprietor of Candy Willow Natural Co-op.

Courtesy: Heather Herdman

Herdman expanded her co-op’s stock to soups and different contemporary meals merchandise that might be picked up curbside or delivered by on-line providers Grubhub and EatStreet. The enlargement created a brand new income that supported the shop till prospects may store in particular person, she mentioned.

“The pandemic prompted me to take a leap of religion to make that change to what we supplied, and it certain did make a distinction,” Herdman mentioned. 

The Brandaos additionally began curbside pickup early on within the pandemic. Throughout the 4 months that Aspect Scrollers was closed in 2020, Justin Brandao raced to create an internet site that might permit prospects to order merchandise on-line. 

“That was the one manner you may purchase stuff from our store for some time,” he mentioned. “And it undoubtedly helped at first to have that new choice.” 

The couple additionally pivoted to holding occasions remotely. Earlier than Covid-19 hit, prospects may maintain birthday events or take part in online game tournaments, which have been core sources of income for Aspect Scrollers, in response to the Brandaos. 

The storefront of online game store and lounge Aspect Scrollers in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Supply: Justin Brandao

Throughout the first 12 months of the pandemic, the couple started to carry distant online game tournaments on the gaming platform Discord, which permits customers to talk by textual content, audio or video. The distant tournaments allowed Aspect Scrollers to develop its attain, gathering members from outdoors of its county, state and even the U.S. 

“They have been saying, ‘Hey, look, my native sport retailer closed, and I am on the lookout for someplace to play whereas the whole lot’s shut down.’ ‘I am from Texas.’ ‘I am from Florida.’ We even had a man from Greece,” Justin Brandao mentioned, including that the $5 event entry payment introduced in a “good quantity” of income to cowl hire and different working bills. 

Group assist

Among the small companies additionally mentioned group assist helped them keep afloat with out PPP loans.

Shriner arrange a GoFundMe web page in March of final 12 months that he mentioned “blew up.” 

He wrote within the description that “any funds raised shall be used for payroll for our 11 great employees members” and famous that The Espresso Home didn’t qualify for federal packages resembling PPP.

Shriner set a fundraising purpose of $10,000, however greater than $23,000 has flowed in from over 500 donors. 

“It was overwhelming. I could not consider it. I actually did not notice that folks in our group cared that a lot,” Shriner mentioned.

Ordonez additionally mentioned assist from “regular individuals, probably the most kind-hearted strangers,” helped The Naked Bar survive. 

The Naked Bar in Denver.

Supply: Ashlie Ordonez

Final 12 months, a buyer put Ordonez in contact with a journalist who featured The Naked Bar in a New York Times story about small companies. She mentioned the publicity prompted individuals from everywhere in the U.S. to achieve out and ship a complete of $15,000 in support, which grew to become essential in serving to to cowl hire and payroll bills. 

“Individuals from Florida, Seattle and California — in every single place. They began sending cash and telling me they needed to assist. With out them, my enterprise wouldn’t be open proper now,” Ordonez mentioned. 

The omicron query

The 4 small companies have managed to climate the difficulties of the pandemic to date. However the nationwide spike in instances of the omicron variant has introduced new hurdles. 

Throughout the first week of January, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention mentioned omicron made up 95% of all sequenced cases in the U.S., a leap from the start of December, when it represented lower than 1%. 

The variant seems to be leaving its mark on small companies throughout the nation. Roughly one-third of them reported a lower in gross sales throughout the week that ended Jan. 9, in response to the U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey, which data altering enterprise situations throughout the pandemic. It is a leap of about 10 share factors from the 22% of small companies that reported a decline in gross sales throughout the week that ended Nov. 28, 2021, when the variant had been detected only in South Africa and a handful of other countries. 

The variant had little impact on Candy Willow Wellness final month. Herdman mentioned enterprise was “booming,” with December income “fully tripling our greatest month ever.” 

However, she mentioned, January is a unique story.  

Enterprise has been slower than in earlier months, she mentioned. For example, the co-op is normally swamped with prospects on Saturdays however that day of the week has been “fairly quiet” for the reason that New Yr. 

Herdman mentioned extra prospects are uncomfortable procuring within the retailer, which has prompted most of them to show to curbside pickup and supply orders. She added that a number of prospects and common volunteers at Candy Willow Wellness have examined optimistic for the virus. 

“I am listening to increasingly more individuals coming in and saying they or a member of the family had it,” Herdman mentioned. “We’re simply attempting to be further cautious with washing, masking and all of that.” 

In contrast to Herdman, the Brandaos mentioned they haven’t seen a noticeable distinction in income or foot site visitors amid the unfold of omicron. 

Candy Willow Natural Co-op

Courtesy: Heather Herdman

“It has been just about the identical prior to now two months. Income has taken a dip slightly bit this January, however I do not know if that is actually attributable to Covid,” Justin Brandao mentioned, suggesting that prospects may need exhausted their spending cash throughout the holidays. 

However the brand new variant has sophisticated issues. The Brandaos closed Aspect Scrollers for every week in December after a buyer who visited the store reported testing optimistic for the virus. 

“I do not remorse the choice to shut, as a result of I might somewhat not take that danger,” Justin Brandao mentioned.

Shriner mentioned he has seen a distinction in enterprise in current weeks as a result of extra individuals are getting “spooked” about omicron. Due to the spike in Covid instances, two close by workplaces had their employees start working from residence, lowering the variety of potential prospects for The Espresso Home, he mentioned. 

However Shriner famous that school college students from the close by College of Nebraska-Lincoln have been set to return to campus this month, which ought to carry in additional income for his enterprise. 

For Ordonez and The Naked Bar, the brand new variant has “slowed issues drastically.” She mentioned prospects are extra reluctant to hunt in-person magnificence therapies at her salon, which prompted income to drop by roughly 30% from November to December. 

“As quickly as you begin feeling good, such as you may need simply made it out of the woods, one thing like this comes again,” Ordonez mentioned. “We simply maintain asking ourselves, when are we going to have some aid?”

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