Small Business Owners are concerned about the future… Here’s what you can do.
The outlook of small business owners (SBO’s) differs based on location, industry, support, and many other factors. SBO’s are concerned about a great many things, but now it seems the #1 concern is… you guessed it, the economy.
CNBC’s Small Business Surveys of over 2,200 small businesses convey current sentiments of small business owners.
From this collection of surveys, 45% of owners are confident about current business and market conditions and more than 40% project revenue increases in the coming year. However, recent changes in the banking system and money markets leave many uncertain. 91% of those surveyed said it was their principal concern while planning and conducting business.
The FED has recently increased interest rates, with SBA (Small Business Administration) prime rates now at 8.25%. This is a huge increase from lower rates below 3% in 2020-2021. Naturally, this makes securing funding from banking institutions quite difficult and risky for some small businesses. The banking insecurity goes even further. With the recent closing of regional banks such as Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic, many SBO’s are thinking more intently about their options for securing funding.
Find out more from CNBC here
Here’s what you can do:
To combat these changes some business owners are maximizing on already existing lines of credit, in order to avoid undergoing the approval process again, and receiving the higher rates. Some are also reevaluating growth opportunities previously planned, as those may require even more means of funding, with the possibility of failing to meet future payments.
The markets are always in flux, so do not be discouraged, but be determined. These times only call for resourcefulness and your business is worth fighting for!
The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.
1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.
2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.
3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories. For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.
Applications Open for Restaurant Revitalization Fund
Applications have opened for eligible restaurants that were left starving for business throughout 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Registration for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the $28.6 billion effort from the Small Business Administration launched Friday, April 30. The fund provides foodservice owners the opportunity to apply for crucial funding following restaurant shutdowns, capacity limits, and staff shortages.
Restaurants, food carts, and food trucks along with bars, bakeries, wineries, and inns will be able to apply for the funding.
“Restaurants are the core of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on main streets across the nation. They are among the businesses that have been hardest hit and need support to survive this pandemic,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a statement Tuesday announcing the application opening. “We want restaurants to know that help is here.”
How to apply:
Owners can access the application via the online application portal which goes live today at noon EST or through the SBA-recognized Point of Sale (POS) vendors.
Applicants will need to have verification for tax information including an IRS Form 4506-T in addition to gross earnings documentation. For more information visit SBA.gov.
Where owners can apply funds:
Restaurant owners can utilize the grants for business payroll costs including sick leave, mortgage payments on the foodservice location, utility payments, and maintenance expenses along with the construction of outdoor seating. Cleaning materials and other operating expenses are also applicable.
The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.
1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.
2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.
3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories.
For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.
NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK AND BEYOND
It’s National Small Business Week.
America was founded by risk-takers. Men and women who identified the opportunity – to gain independence – and seized that opportunity for all it was worth. Today, small business owners continue that tradition of seizing upon the opportunity and committing themselves each day to their communities and beyond.
This week we celebrate all small business owners and their enterprises that have made America a leader in nearly every industry. And let us not forget that almost every large corporation once started small.
America’s small businesses keep America running.
HOW TO OBSERVE
The United States Small Business Administration has recognized the contributions of entrepreneurs and small businesses since 1963. Visit www.sba.gov to nominate your favorite small business and to find out more. Support local small businesses or find out how to give your small business the boost it needs.
The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.
1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.
2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.
3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories.
For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.
Small Businesses Flock to Shopify
A third option for small businesses that focus on e-commerce has emerged. Shopify presents merchants with access to cloud-based third-party services. From payments to fulfillment, merchants have more control of their brand and customer relationships, a key difference between Amazon services.
Shopify’s main offering is a cloud-based service that makes it more simple to build and operate an online store. Its latest offerings include warehousing, fulfillment, and small business loans. Shopify Capital has lent small businesses across the country $1.7 billion since its initial launch.
According to Digital Commerce 360, e-commerce spending grew 44% in 2020 compared to 2019. Contributing to the growth of e-commerce outside of Amazon were smaller retailers paving their own ways to directly reach shoppers.
Shopify, a 14-year-old company, has become one of the largest providers of software and services for merchants who establish their own online stores, with revenue growing by 86% in 2020.
Shopify’s rival, Amazon, forces sellers to give up critical customer data, such as email addresses. Neil Bruce, the head of online for Toolstop, a 56-year-old family-run hardware store and wholesaler based in Glasgow, Scotland, said that his company charges an average fee of 14% for each item’s price that he sells on Amazon.
Unlike Amazon, Shopify strives to level the playing field for small businesses.
“We view our role as leveling the playing fields so that retailers can, rather than rent customers from these platforms, own the relationship with customers,” Shopify President, Harley Finkelstei, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.
1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.
2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.
3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories.
For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.
Veteran-Owned Company Pledges $250,000 for Barstool Fund
Veteran-Owned Company Supports Barstool Fund
The founders of veteran-owned Black Rifle Coffee Company, Evan Hafer and Mat Best, have pledged to donate $250,000 to the Barstool Fund.
The company announced their $150,000 donation on February 8, leading to CEO Hafer’s additional pledge of $100,000.
“Small businesses around the US have been crushed in the last year. Thank you @stoolpresidente for stepping up and showing leadership with the @BarstoolFund. @blckriflecoffee and I are in for $150,000,” Hafer said in a tweet.
Hafer, a former Army infantryman, served in the U.S. Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The company’s “who we are” page states that, “we develop our explosive roast profiles with the same mission focus we learned as military members serving this great country and are committed to supporting veterans, law enforcement, and first responders. With every purchase you make, we give back.
Best, a former Army Ranger, added that they take pride in their community leadership role.
“We’re glad to give back,” he said in an interview with Fox News. “We’re not Elon Musk yet, not even close, but we’re always gonna be a leader in the community and do what we can.”
To date, Barstool Fund has raised more than $35 million for small businesses, helping more than 240 small businesses.
The Alliance to Save the American Dream is a non-profit organization dedicated to three core goals.
1. Develop an Ideas Factory to give small businesses and industries a centralized place to share innovative ideas that must be considered.
2. Build a unique Resources portal for small businesses to go to for answers or resources that address a wide range of issues or challenges.
3. Offer a new networking opportunity for small business owners to connect while also giving them a platform to share their own personal stories.
For more information, visit savetheamericandream.com.
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