NORTH BAY VILLAGE, FLA. (WSVN) - Many small businesses have been hit hard and forced to shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, some owners in South Florida are relieved that financial help may be on the way.
Oxxo Care Cleaners has been open in North Bay Village for 15 years. But these days, business is bad.
“Sales have dropped in excess of 80 percent,” said owner Jean Carlo Tahhan.
He’s glad the federal government has stepped up with the Small Business Administration’s economic injury disaster loans.
“It’s very comforting to know that the government has taken strides to help the people out, to help businesses out,” Tahhan said.
Just down the street, Oggi Ristorante is also struggling. Manager Andres Merro said the loans could make all the difference.
“It makes us feel safer and backed up to be able to have that as a support for our business,” Merro said.
The loans are for small and medium businesses, to help get them through the coronavirus cash flow crisis.
“Our economic injury disaster loan is a loan that our small business owners can apply for,” Victoria Guerrero, South Florida district director of the Small Business Administration, said. “It allows you to request up to $2 million in funding at a 3.75 percent interest rate and the repayment period is up to 30 years.”
Once a business applies, it takes up to about three weeks to get approved, and then another five days to receive funding.
If a business needs fast cash to continue operating, the state offers a quicker fix called the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan.
“It’s called a bridge loan because, in essence, it bridges the time that the impact has occurred to the time that the small business owners received their federal funding or federal loan,” Guerrero said.
The bridge loan charges no interest for the first year.
“When our small businesses are hurting, our entire community is hurting,” said U.S. Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Mucarsel-Powell said the loans are important because almost half of the country’s workforce is employed by small businesses.
“I understand how important it is for us to support our small businesses,” she said. “We are here as a resource, and we will do everything that we can to make sure that you get through this crisis in a strong way.”
For small business owners in these uncertain times, it’s a relief to know the money is there.
“We’re taking things day by day because everything is evolving rapidly, but it’s definitely something that we’re exploring should this continue to drag out longer,” Tahhan said.
Each of the economic injury disaster loans has its own application process.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.