Margaux & Max has managed to stay afloat with Dinges’ Facebook streaming and creative marketing, even as the retail store remains closed for in-person shopping.
Photo: The Donna Dinges
Small business owners have faced some headaches in the past year, as Covid-19 has swept the nation, with restrictions leading to closures, reopening and limited operations in markets across the country at the discretion of state leaders and locals.
New data from Q1 2021 CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey finds that the experiences of Main Street entrepreneurs reflect this period of unpredictability.
While just over half of small business owners say they have managed to stay open throughout the pandemic, 20% of small business owners say their businesses have been temporarily closed as a result of the pandemic and have since reopened. , but only at limited capacity. In addition, 10% of small business owners say they have closed and not reopened yet. Another 4% say they closed, reopened and then closed again.
Back and forth weighed the sentiment of small business owners and led the Main Street community to express strong support for President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid aid plan, according to the survey, which was conducted among 2,111 homeowners. small business nationwide from January 25 to January. . 31 using the SurveyMonkey platform.
Je Donna Dinges relaunched its clothing and accessories store, Margaux & Max, in a new, larger location in early March 2020. Within days, Covid cases began to rise nationwide, and the Ferndale store , Michigan, has been closed.
Je Donna Dinges opened in a new and larger location with her boutique, Margaux & Max, just as Covid began to spread in the US. In a few days it had to close in March 2020.
I Donna Dinges
He has not yet reopened his retail business store in person, a conscious choice for Dinges because he has an autoimmune disease and wants to limit his exposure. But the entrepreneur is not discouraged. To stay afloat, she presents live fashion shows she hosts from her store on Friday night on Facebook, showcasing her mannequins of all sizes, with clothing and accessories. Her customers tune in, Dinges said, then buy and pick up their purchases during the week.
“I’m very concerned about my own health … and I’m also very worried about my clientele,” Dinges said. “I made the decision to stay closed, but not to give up business.”
More generally, small business sentiment fell to a new low in the first quarter, according to the CNBC survey. Confidence has dropped from a score of 48 to 43 quarter-on-quarter, the lowest since CNBC and SurveyMonkey began tracking trust on Main Street in 2017. Moreover, the number of small business owners who say they can continue to operate for more than a year fell from 67% in the fourth quarter to 55%.
Confidence levels varied depending on the race of business owners. The CNBC survey found that fears of permanent closure are high among black small business owners, with 37% saying they can survive more than a year in current conditions, compared to 59% of white small business owners and 55% of business owners. little Hispanics.
Businesses owned by blacks that have not yet reopened after the temporary closure due to the pandemic (25%) compare to 8% of small businesses owned by whites.
Despite the challenges, the Small Business Confidence Index survey found that black small business owners remain optimistic, with an overall small business sentiment score that is higher than their peers.
The wage protection program has been a lifeline for some, but changes have been made to the program following calls from some companies and claim last year that the PPP did not serve smaller, minority-owned lenders. In January, when the $ 284 billion program was relaunched, Community financial institutions that typically serve smaller or mission-based businesses were given their first access to the portal.
To date, more than $ 103 billion has been approved for more than 1.4 million small business loans, according to the Small Business Administration. The SBA says 82 percent of all loans were made to businesses under $ 100,000, indicating that smaller businesses were asking for help. In addition, almost a third of the loans were made to businesses in rural communities. The approval periods were extended with anti-fraud measures in force, the loans not being approved the next day, as they were last year.
Unserved small business
Administration officials said they believe the money for the PPP will not run out, as it did in April 2020, when the program was first launched, and lawmakers continue to promote transparency regarding the demographic profiles of companies’ loans. President Biden has promised to include aid to small businesses not served in his $ 1.9 trillion pandemic package, both in the form of grants and funding, as the small business community is likely to need ongoing lifelines when The PPP will close in March.
“If the administration does receive subsidies directly through the doors of businesses and business owners, it will actually help the capital and working capital of those businesses, rather than acting effectively as a transition to their employees, which of course , the intention of the PPP. It’s invaluable in its own way, “said Brian Blake, director of public policy for the Association of Community Development Banks.
Dinges said he struggled to access PPP funding last year, eventually turning to Kabbage for a small business loan after previous rejections. She is considering applying for a loan for the second draw this year and is optimistic about the future, despite the ongoing challenges. Its sales have fallen by almost 40%, but could be much worse, given all that Main Street has endured over the past year.
“I definitely feel hopeful. As I drove through my community, I looked at the empty shop windows, which is sad. But I look at the empty shop windows of big retailers, “Dinges said.” And it just caught my eye that these big retailers are folding and still standing … the loyalty I get from my customers really excites me. “