Jasmine J. Ortiz is a realtor with Gallagher Real Estate Co., and will be the team leader for its new Worcester office opening in June. Reach her at jasmine@gogallagher.com.
Updated: May 11, 2020
Know How
COVID-19’s impact on businesses owned by people of color
By Jasmine J. Ortiz
For the past month, we have been feeling the effects of being isolated from our loved ones and friends, and for communities of color this becomes even more striking. Many of us come from cultures revolving around group gatherings, and even in our businesses, barbershops, hair salons, laundromats, and bodegas are centers of community news, family outings, and new connections.
COVID-19 has changed all of this: no parties, hair appointments, no physical connections with loved ones outside of the nuclei family unit. This is daunting as our families on average are larger, and in some cases, the nuclei encompass at least three generations of folks living together. Compounded by the fears of the virus, business owners of color are being disproportionately left out of the federal bailout Paycheck Protection Program.
So, how can we support business owners of color at this time? Engage small business owners of color in your networks; if you have a local business attorney you trust, connect with local owners to ensure they have a point person like an attorney to submit their PPP application. Between language barriers, absence of a proven business network in the mainstream community, and the lack of information on the how-to for the application process, these business owners are being left behind. As a realtor, I work to integrate a diverse referral partnership with other small business owners; and I’ve noticed one of my contractor partners did not know how to apply for the PPP, so I recommended my attorney. This is no cost to them, and yet, many small business owners do not know the lender is the one that pays the attorney. Access to capital has never been easy, but in today’s pandemic, it is complicated.
Reaching out to each other and translating the fine print is essential. With the advent of the $2-trillion CARES Act, and all these public grants, Small Business Administration loan programs and even in the private sector, companies are stepping up with grants and loan programs to help small business owners. This is a good time to engage your local business owner of color and let them know about these programs.
Pivoting a small business sustained and nurtured by customers of color. While many of us think of large-scale pivoting by large companies, such as Twitter, Starbucks, and Apple, we can see how smaller businesses driven by customers of color have unique challenges. Not only does a business owner of color have to create new opportunities to expand revenue by introducing new products or services, but the way it is done within the guidelines of health and safety in the times of COVID-19 pandemic creates unique opportunity, which make it a necessity to survive. A business serving or selling products catering to cultural needs must reimagine how they deliver to the customer. Some businesses may deliver at home deliveries, others may need to transmit services online; but this is a challenge for many with limited financial resources.
The final take away: When we return to work and engage with our local neighborhood businesses and their employees, this moment will be characterized on how well we supported the most marginalized sectors in our industries.
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