Sure, they want to get open as soon as possible, but that's not the number one concern right now for small business owners.
Last week, the Reopen Evansville Task Force held the first round of discussions with small business owners on what they need to get back in business. Kim Howard, the regional director of the Indiana Small Business Development Center said the top issue for business owners was not when they could re-open, but how they could keep employees and customers safe when they do get back to work.
Howard said, “If you connect all those dots, there won’t be a demand if people don’t feel comfortable and safe going into an environment. So, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything you can to make sure you’re following those guidelines.”
Howard says they’re considering things that have never come up before, such as whether they should require customers to use hand sanitizer upon entering a business, or whether it’s safe for customers to touch fabric or clothing before buying an item.
As small businesses navigate federal stimulus packages, employee retention and just paying the bills during the pandemic, WNIN’s Steve Burger talked with Howard for an update.
(KH) "I think for all of us, looking at this right now, we can’t make any predictions about long term, but I do think there’s a sense that people have been able to catch their breath, and they’re starting to think about re-opening, and re-think about their business model and how to come back, how to adapt to something that is going to be very different and very fluid.
The first reaction for most people to this was just a shock, because they did not have a feel for what it looks like, and when you can’t see the other side, it’s really challenging.
I do feel like people are coming back, there’s a sense of comraderie among small business owners, people talking to each other, being willing to help each other and getting to know each other. At least in our region, the people that have stepped in and helped, saying we are going to get through this, being very positive.
The communication flow has been very good, I think. You look to your elected officials for some guidance and some direction about where we’re going and that’s where I think most people take their cues. I think the communication has been very good, it’s been open, it’s been frequent. People have stepped in and said, ‘I don’t know if this is the right place to go, but here’s some information about this.’
So, we’re getting information about PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment) here at the chamber, for example. That’s a big concern. We’d not have thought it was that important early on, but aggregating that information, that data, putting it in a place that people can find it, people can get to it, has turned out to be really important.
So, I’m optimistic. I think people have been listening, they’ve been responding, really these small business owners are doing all the right things, looking at all the right resources, they’re asking good questions.
And I think it’s impacted everybody. It’s a pretty level playing field right now. Somebody mentioned that to me the other day. It’s like, ‘I’m one of the small guys, but nobody knows I’m one of the small guys right now because we’re all in the same place, we’re working from our homes. So, why don’t I just try this? Why don’t I just get out there and try something new, try something different that I haven’t tried before? ‘ I thought it was a great observation.”
(SB) “ Is this, what we’re in right now, could you characterize it as a transition time?”
(KH) “I think that’s a perfect term. I don’t think it’s recovery, I think it’s transition. People are at very different places in that transition.”
(SB) “What does recovery look like then? What are we doing when we’re in the recovery phase?”
(KH) “I’m not sure yet if recovery is even the right word. I see this, it’s almost transformational. Recovery, to me, speaks of coming back to where you were. I don’t know that we’re going to be coming back to where we were. I think we’re going to be someplace different. Not markedly different, but different enough so it’s not like coming back to what was. People have learned a lot through this experience and that will impact the way they choose to lead their business into the future.”
