Coronavirus Small Business Poll Results Week Five

Week in Review:

• Thanks for Sharing:  This is the Most Comprehensive Poll Out There: 278,000+ Small Business Owner responses to date: Weekly Impact Poll
• Nearly 5,000 detailed comments have been made so far (click & scroll to the bottom of the page)
• 51% applied for your CARES Act funding (up from 33% last week), 
• 63% Still waiting for approval. 
• 7% Approved and waiting for cash; and
• 2% Have the cash in their bank accounts. 
• First round of cash runs out, hopefully those already approved will at least get their money...
• Harvard Business School dove deep in with our poll. It appeared in the prestigious Harvard Business Review this week. Be sure to look at the suggestions they add at the end of the article, which are especially insightful. 
• Our members are getting creative.  This video shows you how creative people can get! . Spoiler Alert: it's about a party planner who's now creating major tents for COVID-19 testing at regional hospitals. She saved her business and is helping to save lives at the same time! 
• Finally, have you had a chance to visit our Coronavirus Resource and Recovery Center this week? If not, be sure to take a few minutes to see the new helpful articles we have there for you.  
• We will overcome together #SmallBusinssStrong 

It's A Roller Coaster Week, But Hold On Tight

We all know this week started out hopeful in terms of federal funding, now it's hit a snag with $349 Billion running out before many small businesses had a chance to apply for it. Hopefully, the government will boost the funding soon and we'll be back on track. 

Either way, you can count on us to continue to give you suggestions to pull through this very difficult period by tapping our network for tips, connections, referrals and a community that wants to help everyone in it not just survive but thrive. 

Shifting gears, we do have some positive news regarding our ongoing Pulse Poll. The impact of the Coronavirus threat has leveled out now and is five percentage points lower across N. America, dipping from 90% to 85%. Yes, the impact is still very prevalent, but at least as of this week, we are seeing some more signs of light at the end of a long tunnel in both the U.S. and Canada. 

Last week, we told you that 20% of the states and provinces saw small percentage drops in their overall impact week over week. And we can report that 54% of states and 100% of the provinces saw dips in impact from .5% to as much as 11.5%. We've heard increasing reports of very creative pivots that are paying off for some people, and others that have been able to ramp up their online presence, making up for some of their losses or inventing an entirely new business.

This Week's Recap

Well, The Overall Impact Is Down By 5% 

Effects Remain Widespread, But States Have Shifted

Two weeks ago, the Top 10 Most Impacted States were Alaska, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Vermont, Washington, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, Michigan, and Louisiana.

And here's the current list of the Top 30 Most Affected States. While six of the Top 10 from two weeks ago remain, Washington State (the first state to experience the virus) has fallen from No. 5 to No. 25, which could be a great sign of things to come for other states. (Fingers crossed!). 

And the District of Columbia, which was No. 3 two weeks ago, is now No. 50! 

West Virginia, which was No. 8 two weeks ago, is now No. 40.  Neither one of them even made it to this chart of the most-affected states. Some things are, indeed, changing for the better. 

Other states seeing improvement were Oklahoma with a drop of 9.2%, South Dakota down 5.6% and New Mexico, which shaved off 4% from its impact score last week. Some states saw elevated impact scores, including North Dakota, Massachusetts, Oregon and Delaware. And half of the country still has more than 90% of its small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus.

So, to be realistic, we're still talking baby steps here. But they're still baby steps in the right direction. Let's hope we can keep going in that direction.

All Of Canada Is A Tad Less Impacted Than Last Week

Meanwhile, in Canada, while most of the country has provinces that range from 84% impacted to 91%, there has been a noticeable shift for some of them.  First, let's talk about the week over week changes and the provinces with the most significant drops in impact: Prince Edward Island (-11.5%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-7.7%), and Saskatchewan (-4.4).

Two weeks ago, the Top 3 most-affected areas were Saskatchewan (93.1%). Ontario (91.3%) and New Brunswick (91.2%). But now, Ontario takes the top spot, holding steady around 91%, while both Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are out of the Top 3 with percentages in the 80 percentile range. And they've been replaced by Nova Scotia (89.5%) and Quebec (89%).

Again, the overall impact remains significant; however, there are some clear rays of hope emerging, at least in the numbers.

No. 1 Concern: Will Small Businesses Get The Federal Money They Need?

Along those lines, here are some questions we're investigating this week: 

What's your status?

• Did you apply for CARES loans? Did you get the cash yet?  Are you waiting to be approved?
  
• And most important, do you think the government will find a way around the current shortfall in funding? 

Many people believe more money will be appropriated, so do you think it will all work out for you in the end and you'll get the money you were hoping to receive from the Federal Government?

Finally, we want Solopreneurs to know the relief funds are for them too! 

So, use this chart to get your ducks in a row and prepare for another funding round. 

Stay healthy and stay strong!  #SmallBusinessStrong