Category: economy

A lifeline for small businesses

COVID 19

COVID-19 is devastating the world economy to a degree which caused circuit breakers in the US markets to halt trading twice and oil prices to plunge below $30 per barrel.  These macroeconomic tsunamis will cause waves to affect all aspects of daily operations for small businesses including closures, diminishing customer base, and supply chain disruptions.  However, there is some relief:

1.  U.S. Treasury to Help Advance Funds to Employers for Paid Sick Leave

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his agency would advance funds to businesses so they can meet paid sick-leave requirements under a new House bill to combat the novel coronavirus.

In a statement late Saturday night, Mr. Mnuchin said employers will be able to use cash deposited with the Internal Revenue Service to pay sick-leave wages. For businesses that wouldn’t have sufficient taxes to draw from, the Treasury would make advances to cover the costs, he said.  Read the full article here.

2.  The Treasury Department is not your only option, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance for a small business. These loans can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

  • the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
  • Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations in designated areas of a state or territory to help alleviate economic injury caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance.
  • Once a declaration is made for designated areas within a state, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to all affected communities as well as updated on our website: SBA.gov/disaster.
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
  • These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.
  • SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible.

In order to get the process started to receive SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans, contact Your Startup Guru here today

Investors with trillions set up climate change action

Investors with trillions set up climate change action

Nearly 400 investors with assets worth $32 trillion announced The Investor Agenda last week, a first-of-its-kind global agenda aimed at demonstrating and supporting investors in accelerating and scaling-up actions critical to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

In other words, if you’re a greentech or cleantech company, there may be some capital available for your business.

Read more about the Investor Agenda here.

Great Small Business Saturday

Shop Small Saturday - Your Startup Guru

Small Business Saturday saw a record 112 million shoppers this year, setting a new record for the retail event.  This was a 13% increase over last year’s SBS.

Part of this increase is greater awareness with 72 percent of U.S. consumers now know about Small Business Saturday. That’s a slight uptick from the 70 percent in 2015.  Additionally, almost nine in 10 Americans view small businesses favorably, according to a poll conducted on behalf of the Public Affairs Council.

Good employment report

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Federal Reserve Chairwoman, Janet Yellen.  Source:  Getty Images

The U.S. labor market in July capped off the best two-month stretch of hiring so far this year, a sign of strength for an economy that has been showing mixed growth signals in recent months.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 255,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Wages for private-sector workers matched their strongest annual pace of growth in seven years, more Americans entered the labor force during the month and the jobless rate held steady 4.9%.

This could mean greater spending on goods and services such as the goods and services that your business sells  =)

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