In an effort to provide small business owners guidance on available resources to weather impacts of coronavirus, the City of Norfolk, Mayor Josh Moenning and Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce have organized a Small Business Virtual Roundtable event on Tuesday, March 24. Business owners are encouraged to call into the conference through their smartphone, tablet, or desktop at 9:30 a.m. to hear from local and state business and banking leaders.
"More than ever, our small businesses need our support," said Mayor Josh Moenning. "This is meant to be an information-gathering opportunity for small businesses to help make sense of the various support programs and policies available to help weather impacts of the coronavirus threat. We are seeking to match our small business owners to resource organizations, as well as our banking community, and discuss creative ways we can collaborate to help businesses and workers as we work through this challenging time."
The conference will include speakers from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Bankers Association, the Nebraska Department of Labor, the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S Department of Agriculture and members of Norfolk’s Small Business Resource Team.
Some of the resources to be discussed are short-term relief measures offered by the Nebraska Department of Labor, grants offered through the U.S. Small Business Administration, and local resources from area organizations.
“We recognize this can be a hard time financially for the businesses in our area and we want to give them every resource possible to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dan Spray, Board Chairman for the Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce, “We encourage everyone to support our local businesses at this time. Whether it be doing business with them or offering payment deferments for bills they may owe.”
Several businesses have reported low sales in the past week due to recommendations from the CDC to stay home and limit social gatherings to 10 people or less. Several restaurants have turned to carry out and delivery options to stay in front of their customers, while some retail stores have reduced hours.
Local restaurant owner, Michael Behrens said he is feeling the effects of COVID-19. “Our sales have dropped by 70% in the last week.” said Behrens, owner of Black Cow Fat Pig “We have had to cut our staff’s hours, but our biggest goal is to stay open and keep them working.”
Businesses interested in joining the conference call can find the link at norfolkareachamber.com. They can also call +1 312 626 6799 at the time of the conference and use meeting ID 221 942 842.