Pandemic Resource Update 5-19-20
Today’s updates below…
Business “Pivots”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published this article recently that has some interesting ideas for business-model pivots: “The decision for many businesses during the coronavirus pandemic is to pivot or perish. Some business shifts seem like natural moves — restaurants offering takeout, venues livestreaming concerts or retailers scaling up online sales. Businesses that are based around gathering people together for a tour, a game, travel or a conference are finding new ways to get money coming in the door:”
Maximizing Your Online Presence Webinar – WEDNESDAY 2 P.M.
Part I - Transitioning Your Business Online: has your business been impacted by the effects of COVID-19? Are you looking for effective strategies to sell online? Learn tips and best practices that all businesses can use during the pandemic and after. Join consultants from WWBIC and the Wisconsin SBDC for this multi-part series.
(Alia and Kathryn are my colleagues, and they are both accomplished business owners and very adept at social media marketing!)
What: "Maximizing Your Online Presence"
When: 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 20
Presenters:
Kathryn Jackson – WWBIC - Greater Milwaukee
Alia Carroll – WWBIC - Northeast
Dan Brosman – SBDC at UW Oshkosh
Retail Shield
Sarah Artz of Good Day Shop shared this with me. One of her vendors/colleagues creates these retail shields. If you operate a retail shop, you may be interested in having a barrier between your cash register and your patrons. Here's a link to one Retail Shield option, made locally: https://www.humancraftd.com/shop/retail-shield.
PPP Loan Forgiveness
“The SBA released its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and clarified a few critical definitions and documentation requirements in their instructions. The forgiveness application is completed by the small-business borrower and is submitted to their bank or lender whom they received their PPP loan from. The application consists of 11 lines that when calculated results in the amount of forgiveness a small-business owner will be eligible for.”
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/350786?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
Please note that a generic Loan Forgiveness Application has been released by the SBA (link above); but there may be a specific application form used by your lender, so please await those specific instructions.
EIDL Loan – One Business’ Experience
Sharing this with you – as this may be your experience if you applied for the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan):
“I have not received an EIDL advance yet.
However, I did receive an email from the SBA over the weekend telling me to create my SBA EIDL portal account.
I then created the account. It took a few minutes. I had to verify some information – that’s all. There was a pre-approved loan amount already there.
After creating the account, the next day I got another message that my loan was approved and that I should log in to complete next steps.
It took me four different attempts at different times during the day to actually get on to the system (I received a few different error messages in the meanwhile which I assumed were due to high volume on the site.)
When I actually got on, all I had to do was sign twice via DocuSign; and my loan was approved.
I’ll let you know when the funds get deposited.”
Dane County Eviction Prevention Program
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi on May 18 announced a multi-million dollar effort to reduce evictions and improve access to housing during the COVID-19 pandemic: