Coronavirus Insights Poll: Week 6 Results

Week In Review:

• WOW, We're up by 50,000 responses in just 7 days, totaling 326,000+ small business participants to date. This poll reflects the true Voice of Small Business -- and it's all because of you. (So, please keep posting comments below, too. And thanks for sharing your stories!). 
  
• Harvard Business School and others are now working with us to help analyze and publish your feedback, so we can hopefully channel more support in your direction.   
• Coronavirus Curve Flat Again: 85% report being impacted: same as last week.  
  
• Slight Uptick: The number of small business owners who said they were "significantly impacted" increased by 2% from last week. But that's understandable, as the quarantines continue to diminish cash reserves. 
• Receding Impact In States & Provinces: 2 weeks ago, 50% of states reported 90%+ impact. Now, that number's only 20% -- a promising sign?
• CARES ACT CONFUSION... 
• 86% of small businesses that applied for CARES Act loans are in limbo, unsure what will happen next.
• 72% are awaiting approval.
  
• 14% have been approved and are waiting for cash.
  
• Only 8% have the cash in their bank accounts. 
• Major Media Outlets Hear You: USA TODAY covered your story.
  
• Some Good News: We were so inspired by John Krasinski, we rebranded our video stories SGN Small Business Edition.  Watch the inspiring video of Social Media Guru Tracey Davis, who says helping people now will make us all win. That's the small business spirit! 
  
• With those sentiments in mind, let's remember to continue supporting each other through all of this turbulence. Together, we shall overcome. #SmallBusinessStrong 

A Waiting Game & Anger At Big Companies For Most Of The Week

Big companies snapped up much of the $350 Billion from Round One of CARES Act funding. And public outrage continues to run high. Many people are pressuring large public companies to give that money back, so smaller companies can survive. Some have complied already.

On that note, a recent SBA interview showed that some of the nation's largest banks favored larger companies over smaller ones. Our Advice Forum is filled with stories of lending institutions making the process daunting and ultimately damaging to many small businesses.  (You'll really want to read CARES Act Disaster: The Good, The Bad & The Really Ugly to see a broader perspective on the situation).

However, some small businesses did get their money from Round One, but often by relying on community or regional banks. We say it all year, "Shopping local is the way to go" -- not only for goods and services, but apparently for federal loans, as well. See these encouraging stories from our members for additional insider advice.

But At Week's End, Congress Finally Came Through -- Bolstering The CARES Act With Another $310 BILLION

On Friday afternoon, President Trump signed legislation to replenish the CARES Act with another $310 Billion for small businesses -- and $120 Billion of that was reserved for "the smallest of businesses." That's good news for sure, but go to your local banks this time, if you still haven't received your loans yet.  The sooner, the better -- as who knows when this will run out!

We will have more details on this story next week, so tune in for updates.

This Week's Pulse Poll Recap

Holding Steady Around 85% For The Second Week

Some Pressure Lifts In Key States, Others Intensify

Last week, several states dropped off the Top 10 Most Impacted list. This week, that trend continues. 

In fact, only North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nebraska and the District of Columbia had elevated impact scores.  All other states saw a decrease from -1% to over -17%. 

The biggest drops occurred in South Dakota (-17.6%), Arkansas (10.8%), and Mississippi (-10.4%).  As you can see on the map, two of the lightest states are South Dakota and Oklahoma: the least impacted states in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Alaska continues to be the most impacted state with a score of 95.2%, closely followed by North Dakota (95%), Michigan (92.5%), New York (91.5%), and Vermont (91.2%).

We aren't out of the danger zone yet, but ingenuity and positive thinking are helping small business people to continue to weather the storm and stay vigilant, looking for any solutions they can find. Hopefully, this new batch of funding will help, as well.

Now, Let's Look At What's Happening In Canada

Here's Last Week's Map:

Here's This Week's Map: Everything's A Bit Brighter

Impact numbers that were once in the 90-100% range are now all in the 80-89% range. A positive shift is slowly emerging.

Manitoba and New Brunswick are two shining examples, both depicted in light orange on the map. Manitoba saw its impact score drop the most (-12%), landing at 75%. New Brunswick was right behind with a drop of -8%, down to 76%.  

And even the most impacted provinces last week -- Ontario (91%), Nova Scotia (89.5%), and Quebec (89%) -- saw improvement. Now, Ontario is down to 86.5%, Nova Scotia is at 86.2%, and finally, Quebec comes in at 87.4%. 

Those are still high numbers, but at least they're moving in the right direction.

No. 1 Concern This Week: Will More Small Businesses Actually Get The Funds They Need To Survive?

Along those lines, we're digging deeper, asking:

When did you apply for your loan and when did you get approved? 

For those who were approved, how long did it take to get your money? 

What bank did you use to apply for your loan & how was that experience? Would you use that institution again?

Do you believe the big businesses that were prioritized by large banks during the first round of funding should give the money back to help save smaller businesses with fewer resources?

We're also inquiring about paying May rent

Have you been able to negotiate better terms for your rent or mortgage?

Will you cover your full monthly payment or just a portion of it?

Is government funding you received a factor in your rent/mortgage payments?

Be sure to let us know how you feel about all of these issues, during our polls and also in any comments below. 

And thanks for reading! Stay healthy and stay strong. #SmallBusinessStrong