More people need to know what is out there and that there is help

DIXON, CA (MPG) - "Business owners are feeling overwhelmed, exasperated, frustrated, and heartbroken," said Brianna Boyd Marketing Specialist for the Solano Small Business Development Center. "We hear from business owners who are at their wit's end because they may see another stay-at-home order and are facing another significant decrease in revenue."

The organization has been providing assistance with the Solano County Grant Fund, a program of thousands of dollars offered for relief to small business owners throughout Solano County.

"Every business sector in Solano has been affected in some way--with some having no income or next to none for months, then they may have spent thousands of dollars to improve safety and sanitation to keep their businesses open and their communities safe," she said.

Many businesses consider the holidays the busiest and most profitable time of year that would make up for earlier losses but that is not happening, she explained. Boyd worked in Dixon as the Editor of the Dixon Tribune for many years and always had a healthy respect for small business owners but admits that after listening and talking with so many of them about their struggles through this pandemic, she "really had no idea" of the huge responsibilities to run a business.

More people need to know what is out there and that there is help--even dozens of online sources that give directions for finding financial help and emotional support as well.

"I'm in a new position for the organization created with CARES Act funding to help businesses as they navigate and recover from COVID-19 and its impact on various industries," she said. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress with overwhelming, bipartisan support and signed into law by President Donald Trump in March 2020. It is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill created in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

In addition to accessing information on CARES, business owners can access the best of SBDC's recorded trainings and the entire library is available to anyone free of charge. Learn as much as one wants, as often as one wants, on any topic.

Registering is easy. There is a one-time, free registration process is simple by creating a login using your name, email, password, phone number and zip code. Then you will have access and can take advantage of how to grow a better business or survive with the one you have.

Even if the office is closed over the holidays, people can use 'Ask SBDC.' It is part of the continued effort to do everything in the organization's creative power to help one's business overcome the challenges of the current economic crisis and prepare a business to reopen. Ask SBDC offers up-to-date news on loans, opportunities including grants, and other resources and information for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

For more information from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), email Brianna Boyd at [email protected] or call 707-863-3500.