As a small business ourselves, we understand what your business might be experiencing as we navigate these troubled waters. It’s important that at this time we stay connected and remain positive by utilizing what resources are available to us as a small business. We have gathered information from emails we have received, research we have done, and combined those to provide the most useful resources at this time.

Financial Resources

The United States Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is designed to protect small businesses. Keeping workers employed during this crisis can be difficult, and an SBA loan assists with payroll. This program is available until June 30, 2020.‍

Loan Forgiveness: According to the SBA site, employees must be kept on payroll for eight weeks AND the money must be used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities, in order for loans to be forgiven. 

For information on how to apply, eligibility, and further details, click here or download a sample form to see what information will be requested for you to apply. If you are a borrower, you can apply for the SBA loan by clicking here. Additionally, click here for a list of SBA Lenders in Louisiana.

Marketing Resources

Facebook has announced their Small Business Grants Program was developed to help businesses experiencing challenges during the COVID-19 event. Not only are they providing cash grants, but they are also offering ad credits to help small businesses. This program is built to keep your workforce, help with rent, connect with customers and cover operational costs. The application date has not announced yet.

For more information about applying, click here and scroll until you see “Sign Up for Updates.”

Work From Home Resources

When you are not used to it, working remotely can be difficult. Communication may become scattered, but there are many ways you can provide support to your team and keep your employees connected.

Our team communicates constantly throughout the day using Google Hangouts (a chat feature on g-mail), emails, phone calls and text messages. We brainstorm “pivot plans” for our clients (and even ourselves) using Google Docs and virtual meetings. It almost feels like we are at the office, but occasionally a cat, dog or a child may make a friendly appearance.

Every morning at 8:30 our team comes together to discuss their day and what’s expected for production, and every afternoon at 4 o’clock there is a follow-up meeting to discuss where we are at with production in each department, if any further details are needed to complete any projects. The end of the day meeting is also a chance for us to come together before the work day ends and remind each other we are in this together and to remain positive. 

Click here for our favorite tool used for messaging, voice and video calls with our team.

Additional Resources

Please note there is information being shared on social media that may be incorrect or not completely updated. The best place to get additional resources and the most relevant information is by following these credible sources:

• https://www.lsbdc.org/
• https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/covid19
• https://labi.org/newsroom/combat-coronavirus-shop-safe.-shop-smart.-shop-local
• https://tangipahoa.org/Government/emergency-preparedness/Coronavirus
• http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/
• https://templatearchive.com/coronavirus-guidance/

Stay up to date with the latest news from Steve Scalise by clicking here and Governor John Bel Edwards by clicking here.

Together, we will get through this as small businesses and come out stronger than ever.