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Tag: small business

Tips and resources for small businesses on road to recovery

Small business owners in Colorado and across the country are slowly but surely regaining their footing after a uniquely challenging year. In Metro Denver, growing consumer confidence has contributed to improvements, while the Bloomberg Colorado Index, which measures the performance of the Colorado economy, is up nearly 12% year-to-date.

According to new research from Bank of America, business owners’ economic confidence and revenue expectations have bounced back significantly since last fall. We found that 60% of small businesses expect their revenue to increase over the next 12 months, and nearly 80% attribute this to the increasing availability of covid vaccines.

While these signs of progress are encouraging, we know that the journey to full recovery can be a long one. Below, I’m sharing some key insights from the Small Business Owner Report as well as tips to navigate the path forward as the economy safely reopens.

Hiring New Talent

Last year, unemployment rose sharply during the pandemic, forcing businesses to reevaluate their budgets and make tough decisions around talent. Given one-in-five business owners plan to hire this year, it’s important to ensure your business is attractive for top talent.

  • Create an application that is easy to navigate. As businesses begin to reopen more job opportunities are expected to become available. Create an application process that is quick and easy, but still screens for the experience level you’re looking for. Make your application mobile- friendly, too.
  • Get everyone to recruit. Tapping into your current employee base can be one of the most powerful and cost-efficient strategies to find and recruit talent. Your current employees have familiarity with your company culture and the necessary skillset to thrive at your organization. Consider offering bonuses to staff who successfully refer new employees.

Reevaluate Short and Long-term Goals

Colorado business owners took advantage of many resources and programs throughout the last year to navigate the pandemic, leaning on friends and family and seeking professional guidance. And while one-quarter applied for a business loan or line of credit over the past year, only 16% say they will seek financing in 2021. To continue this positive momentum throughout 2021, consider these strategies:

  • Prioritize your business plan. Sit down with your small business banker to take stock of
    your business’ current situation and business plan. Your small business banker can help you set realistic goals as your business’ recovery continues.
  • Explore available resources to meet your goals. The Bank of America team wants to
    ensure small business owners have access to the tools and resources needed to secure funding. Bankers can also help connect business owners who may not qualify for traditional bank financing to our network of CDFI partners across the country. Consider the following questions: What new goals require additional financing? Are you looking to boost your headcount? Do you anticipate any structural or technological enhancements in the coming year?

Operational Shifts

Business owners adapted their business for the health and safety of their employees over the past year. As the economy begins to reopen, 62% anticipate that the operational changes they made in response to the coronavirus will continue beyond the pandemic – specifically enhancing their sanitation practices and building a digital sales strategy. As digital proliferation continues, we expect to see more helpful tools come out for business owners.

  • Consider a digital transition. Businesses across the country have adjusted aspects of their operations, changing primary revenue streams and shifting to online sales. As we continue to adjust, consider digital banking to limit in-person interactions and greater client convenience.
  • Proceed with purpose. If you are a part of the 53% of business owners who indicated they are committed to advocating for social change through their business, be sure to set clear and attainable goals. Consumers are sharp, and will be able to tell the difference between platitudes and substance.

Overall, we’re seeing encouraging progress for the small business community in Metro Denver and we’re looking forward to helping business owners thrive in 2021 and beyond.

Macaluso Nathan 05212019 Img 0036 Nathan Macaluso is Bank of America’s Small Business Banking Manager for Colorado.

How small businesses can prepare for success in a post-pandemic world

There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted businesses of all sizes across the country, but none more so than small businesses.

In recognition of Small Business Month in May, we wanted to take the opportunity to look more closely at the efforts to help small businesses recover post-pandemic.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the number of active business owners in the U.S. plummeted by 3.3 million or 22% from February to April 2020.

The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries.

Industry impact

Businesses across all industries, especially those with some of the biggest declines of employment include leisure and hospitality (48%), restaurants (48%) and taxi and limousine services (22%).

Even businesses like fitness equipment, landscape, grocery stores and liquor stores that flourished during the pandemic will have to reevaluate hiring practices and supply chain disruptions that are affecting business owners across the country.

Support efforts

To help small businesses stay afloat, the federal government created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as part of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Since April 2021, $762 billion has been distributed to qualified companies and paid out $5.08 billion in unemployment benefits. Today, the federal government has created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, two small-business relief programs for restaurants and live-event businesses as part of Covid-19 relief options.

Financial institutions like UMB provided support to businesses and customers in a variety of ways. Additional resources included personal loan and mortgage payment deferments and modifications, credit card repayment and payment deferral options, access to additional credit lines as well as options to increase mobile limits and refunds for service fees or charges.

There has also been a proactive push by consumers to support small businesses versus larger corporate entities that were minimally impacted by the pandemic.

According to the 2020 Cox Business Consumer Sentiment Survey on Small Business, 68% of respondents say they want to support small businesses in their community, while 70% say they plan to increase their support of small businesses as Covid-19 lessens.

Current challenges

Despite the positive moves Americans, the federal government and the banking industry have taken to help small businesses stay afloat, they still face challenges.

As business slowly starts to get back to normal and the cities and economy open up, supply-chain disruptions are taking a heavy toll on small businesses that have fewer resources to absorb or push back on price increases, resulting in revenue loss, inflation costs, decrease in a market share and production issues—ultimately impacting a company’s bottom line.

Additionally, small businesses are struggling to fill open positions based on a variety of factors including fear of contracting Covid-19, unemployment benefits outweighing part- or full-time pay and rising cost and/or limited access to daycare.

Shockingly, there are 15 million job vacancies available in the U.S.—10 million more than when the pandemic first began. Without employees to support small businesses, more of these businesses may fail.

Planning for the future

As small businesses continue to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s important for owners to know they are not alone. In addition to government support and consumer buy-in, small business owners should lean heavily on their financial advisors and bankers to help them navigate these unique times.

In turn, banks need to support their clients and nurture the relationships by offering smart solutions to get them back on track.

From assisting with lending options, cash flow management to employee benefits and everything in between, trusted advisors like those at UMB are here to serve as a partner to help small business find success in a post-pandemic world.

Jacob Hymes, SVP, is the Director of Small Business at UMB Bank.

Pandemic prompts small-business tweaks that may endure

From curbside pickup and senior shopping hours to dining in yurts and viewing menus via smart phones, small businesses and restaurants were forced to institute a wide range of customer safety and service steps in 2020. Business owners now are examining which of those experiments were so successful that they will stay around post-pandemic.

The pandemic pushed businesses to turn from what was easiest and best for their own internal operations to instead adapt to become more consumer centric, said Chris Romer, CEO at Vail Valley Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to regional economic vitality.

“The businesses that thrive coming out of the pandemic are going to be 100% focused on the customer experience,” Romer said. “Things that make it easier for consumers are here to stay. The pandemic fast-tracked a lot of that.”

Changes that small-business experts expect to stick are those related to customer comforts and technological advances such as non-contact payments, scannable QR codes for digital menus, curbside pickup of retail and restaurant orders, enhanced to-go ordering apps and online platforms, and expanded delivery services.

With restaurants and bars suffering some of the toughest blows, look for the continuation of carry-out cocktails, dining in unique outdoor settings such as in retired gondola cars, seating expanded into public rights of way, and seasonal extensions of outdoor patio dining, said Sonia Riggs, CEO of the 3,500-member Colorado Restaurant Association. Riggs said food and beverage organizations will carry through with pandemic lessons learned that boost efficiency and cut costs since the profit margin of restaurants is low, averaging 5% to 7%.

The Town of Breckenridge instituted a Walkable Main Street for five blocks from July through September that was a popular and successful experiment, as it introduced more tables and chairs and more space to stroll through downtown, said Brian Waldes, town finance director. He said creating a pedestrian zone on Highway 9 had been discussed for many years, but the “pandemic was the tipping point to try it.”

“We had great visitation numbers over the summer,” Waldes said. “We really feel that it (Walkable Main) kept that level of economic activity.”

Expanded outdoor zones for public consumption of alcoholic beverages are popular with guests and are expected to survive post-pandemic. Last year leaders approved common consumption areas, for example, at ski base areas in Steamboat Springs, Vail, Telluride and Beaver Creek.

Many small businesses committed the time and funds in 2020 to improve online shopping options to serve customers remotely. In small towns such as Fruita and Palisade, chambers pivoted from organizing in-person events to expanding community-wide business websites. Kayla Brown, Fruita Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, said she saw “a huge need” to create a “shop local” directory called GrandValleyBusiness.com.

“We weren’t looking into building an online platform,” Brown said, “but we know the value in having a good online resource now more than ever because of the pandemic.”

Big tech for small business: a path to COVID-19 recovery

The words “big tech” often conjure an image of high-security data centers and glass-clad office buildings tucked away in a far-off California town. And on Capitol Hill, tech companies have become a hot topic, as hearings with leading technology firms are given center stage in the national media.

But while lawmakers raise important questions when it comes to navigating the future of our technology industry, they often fail to recognize the enormous benefits that free and low-cost technology platforms have provided small businesses and communities in every corner of the country.

The impact of leading technology companies extends far outside of Silicon Valley. Driving growth in new, digitally connected job opportunities and enabling an unprecedented level of virtual connectivity for even the smallest businesses, tech platforms have allowed local communities to rebound from crisis and chart a path to rapid growth.

During COVID-19, these services have allowed small business owners to stay connected with employees and customers, connecting online to tackle work that would – just a few years ago – only have been possible in-person.

These days, Colorado itself has become a tech hub. The Denver Tech Center has become home to an incredible number of major, enterprising tech firms.

Additionally, this year, CBRE’s “Scoring Tech Talent” report ranked Colorado Springs the number 4 fastest growing tech market in North America, citing 15 percent growth in the tech labor force in the past five years alone.

But the biggest benefit these companies provide our state is in opportunities for small businesses, present and future. During COVID-19, dreams of growth can seem distant, as businesses work to simply survive our economic downturn. But tech platforms offer a blueprint to growth, one that takes the risk out of making the leap to digital markets.

Advances in technology over the last few years have allowed me to update our business records from home, tele-conference with colleagues, and work collaboratively in ways that suit this emerging work environment.

Additionally, our small multi-media production agency digiZuk is able to use these “big tech” platforms to create exciting new projects for our clients, from online fundraisers to virtual tours, which have been vital to replace in-person events, meetings and trade shows in the face of COVID-19.  Together, that has undoubtedly saved our business and my job, as well as many others in small businesses around the country.

Day to day at digiZuk, we work with clients across the board – from small companies like ourselves to big firms seeking large-scale projects. And for teams of all sizes, finding these cost-effective online platforms are the foundation for their viability, scalability and digital transformations, allowing them to keep pace with market innovations.

Platforms like Google’s G-Suite, Vimeo and Zoom have allowed digiZuk, our clients, and our sister company Spark4 to not just survive this global pandemic, but to stretch our imagination, getting more creative and innovative, ultimately thriving in ways we could not imagine just 7 months ago.

The messaging coming out of Congress these days often seems to focus on anti-tech ideas, rather than recognizing the crucial supporting role these companies have played since the pandemic began – and of course, even further back than that. But with sensible, pro-growth political leadership, Colorado can leverage its place as a growing tech hub to ensure all of our state’s local communities have the opportunity to transition online during COVID-19 and benefit from the digital market for years to come.

“Big tech” has an even bigger role in growing small businesses and seeing us through these difficult times. Congress and other state leaders should look to those of us on the ground – the local leaders in small business growth and development – as they examine digital technologies and the tech industry in the future.