Thoughts on Small Business Relief in the Stimulus Package
I ran a small business for 23 years before I retired. We started from scratch as a self-employed micro-business. My employees were the backbone of our organization. I trained them; we often became as close as family. They know the workings of the organization; they know all the people we work with; they know the substance of what we do better than anyone else; they know each other, and they have developed their own unique and unusual patterns of how they work together effectively and collegially.
As a small business, we worked on tight margins. It took many years of hard work to accumulate enough savings for a three-month reserve. There is often very little financial margin for error.
In an economic crisis/meltdown such as today where we are all asked to shut down for the common good, I would have far preferred to keep our staff on payroll rather than to lay them off so they qualify for unemployment insurance. When the corona virus health crisis is over, when we can return to work, as the economy turns around, I would want them back just as quickly as possible.
I recognize that for many, there may be no choice but layoffs to keep their businesses from going under. I know that for many small businesses, we would prefer no interest government loans (bail outs) to keep our payrolls and staff intact during the corona virus crisis so we can quickly get back to work at top effectiveness and efficiency when it ends.
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin, Founder, Insure the Uninsured Project
Dated: 3/22/20