Small Business Owners - SBA

Dear Keweenaw Area Businesses:

Due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, we know there will be a financial hardship for our small business communities. On March 12th, the President announced that SBA to Provide Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) (https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/sba-provide-disaster-assistance-loans-small-businesses-impacted-coronavirus-covid-19)

Now that this step is in motion, the next step is to gather information for Governor Whitmer to request an economic disaster designation for the entire state of Michigan. In order to do this, the request requires at a minimum, one application per county, of an adversely affected business. Attached is the application that will need to be completed by each business (link below - only page 3) and the instructions. We know it will be difficult to determine actual losses at this point, however with one week into the shutdowns, we can make a strong estimate for the first month of loss. This is only an estimate at this time, necessary to state our case with the Governor.

List of some losses that may occur:
1. Loss of sales
2. Increase in payroll due to staff taking sick time.
3. Unplanned expenses to offset public fear or expenses to ensure public safety.

In order to expedite this information to our Governor, the SBDC has asked their economic development partners to identify and gather this information for their county. The SBDC lead center, at Grand Valley State University, has been asked to coordinate the final collection of applications. Please send your completed worksheet (link below) to Laura Mahronic, Regional Director Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Michigan Small Business Development Center, lemarohn@mtu.edu, 906-280-5434 by scan. The SBDC will reach out to you directly with information on the state determination and any updates as they come out.

LINK: Disaster Injury Worksheet for Business

Sincerely,

Tara Arens, Manager
Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce

Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director
Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance