Thank you for joining me for the webinar “House Calls: Small-Business Resilience, Recovering from COVID-19" on Wednesday.
We were fortunate to hear from four business experts, and I have included a few tips and resources below. If you have any additional questions, my team is here for you – please contact us at barbarabry@sandiego.gov.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bry
Council President Pro Tem
Tips for small-business resilience and recovery
Tayde Auburto, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce
The Small Business Development Centers’ services are free. Contact them and have access to the information they have. Check the Community Development Financial Institutions. They can lend money, too.
Digital transformation. This is the time where you need to conduct an assessment of your current business model and incorporate digital into it. Now we have the opportunity to sell to markets outside of San Diego. Do you want to be part of the e-commerce pie or be left behind?
Stay positive. Reach out to folks who can help you, and just keep moving forward.
Donna DeBerry, president and CEO San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce
Think about how to do curbside pickup, free delivery, and online payment.
Look beyond your lender. There are other small community banks and savings that are taking applications right now. You can contact us or at any of the other chambers, the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce has a list. The good news about small community banks is that it’s not just about your credit.
This is the time to reinvent yourself. Think about all of things you’ve wanted to do and couldn’t get done.
Sam Mazzeo, Managing Partner at Better APC
Get in touch with your lender. They’re the ones that have the keys.
Grants.gov is a little bit of an aggregator. Reach out to your community on Facebook and look at what they’re looking at in terms of recovery funds.
Get creative and to be on the offensive, think about what the next phase of recovery looks like and take steps now to prepare for it.
If you’re able to make your payroll and you’re doing ok, try to figure out what you can do for the community around you.
Utilize resources available to you, some resources Sam recommends are:
Highroad Kitchens - a program seeking to take this pause to fundamentally change the food and beverage industry for the better (while also providing free meals to those in need)
Vilavanh Sanginthirath, founder and CEO, Innovation City
Be forward-thinking. This is a time when we can think outside of the box. Right now, people really need to start thinking not only what our day-to-day is, but preparing for the future. How do we get there and what does it look like?
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