TWO FACEBOOK LIVE EVENTS
Please join me for one of two Facebook Live events next week
Tuesday 1pm EDT/10am PDT: my own Facebook Live
Update on funding sources and tips for long-term business survival. Go here to join or to watch after the event.
Tuesday 4pm EDT/1pm PDT: Facebook Live with LocalIQ
“Retaining & Gaining Customers in Uncertain Times.” Go here to join.
And if someone forwarded you this newsletter, you should sign up here.
SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL TIP: FIND WAYS TO LOWER AND/OR DEFER PAYMENTS
In addition to finding ways to get financing, now is also the time to try to reduce your expenses. Don’t wait for your vendors or landlord to come to you—reach out to them to start the conversation to see whether you can come up with new payment arrangements and terms. Recognize that they may be in the same boat as you—especially other small businesses and small landlords. But they don’t want to lose your business, either—not in the long run. Go through your bills for ALL your fixed expenses—telecommunications, online services, equipment leases, credit cards, lines of credit. Contact all of them to see if you can reduce what you owe or come up with a payment plan to spread out payments over many months. Don’t be embarrassed, reluctant, or too confrontational. Just do it. Also, figure out what you might be able to do without. If your lease is up or you are on a month-to-month, perhaps you can use less space, move, or give up space entirely. Tighten your belt—if you still have a belt.
ROUNDUP OF FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS
Here’s a brief rundown of the key programs in case you’ve had a hard time keeping them straight. Please do take advantage of all programs you’re eligible for.
PPP: Paycheck Protection Program
- Eligibility: self-employed; businesses & nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees; hotel/restaurant businesses with fewer than 500 employees in one location
- Amount: 2.5 times your average monthly “payroll costs”—includes salary, wages, commissions, group health insurance, retirement, state and local employment taxes for payroll employees and self-employed; limited to maximum annual salary of $100k; maximum of $10 million
- Can be used for: payroll costs, rent/mortgage on business property; utilities
- Terms: 1% if not forgiven; 2-year term; no payment for six months
- Forgiveable: if at least 75% of funds are used for payroll costs in the 8 weeks after receiving loan
- Apply through: banks, PayPal, Square, Intuit, other non-bank lenders
EIDL—Economic Injury Disaster Loan
- Eligibility: self-employed; businesses & nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees affected by Covid-19 crisis
- Amount: up to $2 million
- Can be used for: working capital, payroll
- Terms: 3.75% businesses; 2.75% nonprofits; 30 year term; no payment for one year
- Forgiveable: NO
- Apply through: SBA
$10,000 “Grant”: apply as part of EIDL
- Eligibility: $1000 per payroll employee up to $10,000
- Cannot be used for: same payroll costs as PPP or reduces that amount of PPP forgiveness
Unemployment Insurance
- Eligibility: self-employed, gig workers, as well as employees
- Amount: $600 week for four months in addition to any eligible state unemployment
- Can be used for: anything
- Apply through: state unemployment agencies
Main Street Lending Program
This is a new program from the Federal Reserve (not the SBA) that might be of interest to larger small businesses and mid-size companies, both for-profit and nonprofit businesses. These are large loans (minimum $1 million, maximum $25 million) and a company must be in “good financial standing” before the current crisis. The loan term is 4 years; interest rate is based on 2.5%-4% ABOVE the overnight financing rate (SOFR), and there are a variety of fees. There is no prepayment penalty. These are NOT forgiveable.
Remember sole proprietors, self-employed are eligible for most of these programs—including the PPP and EIDL.
I will discuss all this further during my Facebook Live session—Tuesday, April 21 at 1pm EDT/10am PDT—and future Facebook Live sessions. Go here to join or to watch later. Learn more in future newsletter updates as well. Sign up here if you are not already on my mailing list.
Stay well. Stay home. Stay in business.
Copyright Rhonda Abrams, 2020