China News Service, August 10. According to the US "World Journal" report, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused heavy losses to small businesses in Chinatown in the United States, and the recovery speed after the epidemic is slower than that of other communities.
The industry said that although the previous federal government relief fund has helped to some extent, the prosperity of Chinatown has not recovered to the level before the epidemic, and they hope that the government will increase financial assistance.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) sent staff to visit small businesses in Chinatown on the 8th to understand the difficulties faced by the business owners, and called for active contact with the Small Business Administration and related community organizations to apply for resources.
Jennifer Kim, deputy director of the Field Operations Office of the Federal Small and Medium Business Administration, and others visited the Chinatown restaurant "Zhi Bao Huang" and other businesses on the 8th. The owner, Mr. Wu, said that during the epidemic, he twice applied for the "Paycheck Protection Loan Program" (Paycheck Protection Program, referred to as PPP), and finally overcame the difficulties. "Although the business situation has been improving, it has not recovered to the level before the epidemic, and many stores in Chinatown are still closed."
Mr. Wu said that his restaurant used to operate 12 hours a day, but now it can only operate for eight hours due to the decrease in the flow of people in Chinatown and the shortage of funds and manpower; "I hope the government can increase financial support to help extend business hours and increase manpower; Things are getting better now and hopefully things will get back to normal in the next few months."
Li Zhiwei, operation director of the Asian Society for Equality Revitalization Business Service Center, said that due to issues such as crimes against Asia and rising raw material prices, the recovery speed of Asian communities after the epidemic is not as fast as other communities. Many small Asian businesses have very low profit margins, so they need more SBA helped; "We assisted in distributing 10 million yuan in relief funds during the epidemic, 90% of which were given to Asian small businessmen. Businesses that received the funds were able to maintain their operations and provide technical support for the business owners."
Jennifer Jin said that in the past two years, the SBA has provided 450 billion yuan in relief funds for small businesses across the country, but not all businesses have received loans or relief funds, and many businesses are still struggling; she called on those in need or planning to start a business For the public, contact the SBA to apply for loans and resources, and business operators can log on to the relevant website or make an appointment by calling (212) 264-4354, and they can get free consultation and assistance in multiple languages. For example, SBA will also help small businesses apply for government contracts. , The federal government's infrastructure plan is an opportunity for small businesses.
According to Li Zhiwei, small-scale businesses can currently apply for the SBA microloan program, with a maximum amount of 50,000 yuan. The loan is fast and suitable for those who are in urgent need of cash. You can contact Yaping Association to revitalize business by calling (646) 397-9429. Service center application.
(with Zhaoyu)