Last updated : November 11, 2024
Did you know the owner of USA Mobile Drug Testing of Northeast Ohio, Karen Kitchen, is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program? This program has helped USA Mobile Drug Testing provide for their customers, create jobs, and increase involvement in the community. The small businesses program resources have been valuable for USA Mobile Drug Testing, allowing them to provide a positive impact as a small business in Northeast Ohio.
Last week, Karen had the opportunity to attend 10,000 Small Businesses Voices: Virtual Capitol Hill Week. The objective of the virtual event was to direct Congress to support small business initiatives. She, along with over 2,100 alumnae from the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program had the opportunity to raise their “virtual voices” on Capitol Hill on behalf of small businesses across the country. They were able to advocate for policies to help make small businesses succeed, an effort made even more crucial by the current economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
She got a chance to speak with Legislative Aides from Senators Portman and Brown’s offices as well as Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur from northern Ohio. The topics being discussed included the CARES Act, Paycheck Protection Program, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Preceding these calls on June 10th and 11th, 10KSB also hosted webinars with politicians and business leaders, of both large and small businesses, to discuss the effects of COVID-19 and how it has impacted different businesses and industries in various ways.
About The Event
The overwhelming sentiment from the small business owners who were involved suggests several things around the Paycheck Protection Program. Those of us who received the PPP loan (88% of 10KSB members who applied did receive the loan) are profoundly grateful and agree that it has helped save many of our small businesses, and the recent changes to PPP will also be helpful.
However, a large concern with the current program is around the full-time equivalent requirement and loan forgiveness. It may not be possible for us to return to our pre-COVID employment levels by the end of the year. This is because our businesses are operating at, on average, 50% of our revenues before the coronavirus hit, forcing the economy to shut down. Therefore, loan forgiveness is one major ask among small business owners (with the suggestion of only being required to return FTE’s to a 60% level), along with the request for a second round of PPP funding.
We are thankful that we have been able to keep our employees working rather than having them collect unemployment. However, we still need more time and money to recover as we strive to rebuild our small businesses with the lingering uncertainty of slow re-openings and no control over what the near and possibly long-term landscape will look like.
While the primary topic of conversation centered around the Paycheck Protection Program, there was also some discussion regarding other legislation, including the RESTART Act to support hard hit small and medium-sized businesses, the Heroes Act, and the possibility of additional stimulus money being granted.
As a group, we were all grateful for the platform provided to us by Goldman Sachs and the 10KSB program, as well as the opportunity to engage in the first ever “virtual voice” program of this kind. It’s critical for all small businesses to remain united and be heard as we are the backbone of the American economy. As one small business owner to another, I hope that the Paycheck Protection Program has helped your company during the uncertainty we are faced with from COVID-19. And as a member of Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program, I hope to continue to be a voice as we all work towards a brighter future.
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