As we continue to try to navigate through these unprecedented times, we look to those who can help guide us through. Here is what 19 small business leaders had to say about the Paycheck Protection Program, and the importance of providing relief to our nation’s small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Lloyd Blankfein – CEO, Goldman Sachs

“There will be some resentments that emerge because some people will have gotten help and others in a similar situation won’t have.” (source)

Drew Maloney – CEO of the American Investment Council

“Businesses across America are looking for support immediately in order to survive and continue to employ people. It shouldn’t matter if these companies are backed by investments from corporations, pension funds or others. We’ll continue to work with the administration and Congress to request that federal programs support all businesses, regardless of ownership structure, and their workers.” (source)

Amanda Fischer – Policy director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth 

“With such limited resources, policymakers should not be bailing out private equity general partners at the expense of small restaurants, barber shops and self-employed people. We saw from the 2008 crisis that private equity companies are some of the best-positioned firms after a crisis — gobbling up assets, increasing concentration and exacerbating inequality while workers and small business suffers. We shouldn’t repeat those mistakes.” (source)

Jim Cramer – TV personality on Real Money

“Consider the Fed and Treasury as ad hoc insurers demanding no premiums. Maybe it ends up being a small price to pay to avoid a depression.” (source)

Brian Moynihan – CEO of Bank of America

“It’s clear that between Congress, the administration and the American people, we need to get all these funded and not make this a foot race. Just get the work done.” (source)

Paul Merski – Lobbyist for the Independent Community Bankers of America

“Virtually every small business borrower believes that this will be forgiven. They took it out assuming that it would be a grant but it’s not — you have to abide by very complex rules and regulations on how this is spent.” (source)

“Now that over $500 billion of these loans have been approved, we’re really focused on the forgiveness phase, and the forgiveness phase could be 10 times more complex than the initial program.”

Steven Mnuchin – Treasury Secretary

“The objective here is to put people back to work.” (source)

Karen Mills – former SBA official, now senior fellow at Harvard Business School

“I have had countries including the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and Spain come to me and ask for the blueprint of the SBA, because they want to copy it.” (source)

Spokesman for Marco Rubio – the Florida Republican

“At the end of the day, if there’s a way to keep people connected to employment, that’s what we wanted to do.” (source)

Jamie Dimon – JPMorgan Chairman and Chief Executive

“Thousands of dedicated (staff) worked tirelessly over the past 30+ days to support the federal government in one of the largest and most ambitious emergency lending facilities in history.” (source)

Bridget Weston – CEO of SCORE  

“I really want all small businesses to remember how critical they are to this economy. So we just don’t want them to give up hope. It may be discouraging now, [but] we will help as many business owners as possible to get through this so they can keep their doors open and have a viable plan so that a year from now they are still running a productive and successful business.”

“We are recommending that small business owners reach out to either their landlords or other business vendors that they work with that have set costs and try to work out a plan and communicate to them what the small business owner is doing to get through these times.”

Jessica Mah – CEO of inDinero 

“This is a get-out-of-jail-free card — if you just follow the directions. And if you’re worried about all your other overhead that’s not employees, negotiate it. I’m telling everyone: ‘Negotiate with all your contractors and tell them to get their own PPP … and then negotiate a better price with them.” (source)

Bond, Schoeneck & King lawyer Jeffrey Scheer

“There are a lot of businesses that may be closed but are continuing to pay their employees, even if their employees are home. It may sound silly, but it does give you an opportunity to hire back your employees and pay them, even though they may be … on the bench, as we say. Consider even bringing people back to have them on call, ready to work again when you are able to reopen your business.” (source)

Ronald Kruszewski – CEO of Stifel Financial

“Just because a business, whether it’s an RIA or anyone else, can technically apply for a PPP loan doesn’t mean it should.” (source)

Calvin Corriders – Regional President of Pathfinder Bank 

“We’re all in this together. We’re inextricably tied. Our local legislators, our federal legislators — they’re all sensitive, all advocating for the same thing we’re advocating for.” (source)

Sen. Chris Coons – Member of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee

“These are some of our most vulnerable small businesses. Because you know, if they got an SBA loan, they probably had difficulty getting a traditional bank loan. So these are exactly the companies we want to make sure know that for the next six months, they don’t need to do anything.” (source)

Steven Mnuchin and Jovita Carranza – Treasury Secretary and SBA Administrator, respectively

“We have noted the large number of companies that have appropriately reevaluated their need for PPP loans and promptly repaid loan funds in response to SBA guidance reminding all borrowers of an important certification required to obtain a PPP loan.  To further ensure PPP loans are limited to eligible borrowers, the SBA has decided, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, that it will review all loans in excess of $2 million, in addition to other loans as appropriate, following the lender’s submission of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application.  Regulatory guidance implementing this procedure will be forthcoming. We remain fully committed to ensuring that America’s workers and small businesses get the resources they need to get through this challenging time.” (source)

Guy Crowgey – attorney for Crowgey & Associates

“Please make sure you clearly break out your PPP expenses paid for several reasons: your bank will want to see what the funds were used for, and also, for tax prep purposes. If you received $XXXXX in PPP funds, then your financial statements must also clearly show $XXXXX in PPP expenses.  Each expense should be clearly labeled PPP.  For Example: PPP-Officer Salary; PPP-Rent; PPP-Telephone.  This will allow everyone clear view of what the funds were used for.” (source)

George Soros – Chairman, Soros Fund Management and Open Society Foundations

“Any funds spent preserving worker paychecks and healthcare now will save money that would otherwise have to be spent on unemployment benefits and public healthcare later.” (source)

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When times get tough, we look for guidance. For small business owners, that means looking to business leaders for their views on how the economic stall from the pandemic will play out.

Check out what some of the world’s business leaders had to say about the COVID-19 pandemic and what comes next:

Oprah Winfrey – American media executive 

“I was struck by the work these organizations are doing and while everyone’s priority right now is to stay safer at home, I know there are many of us looking for ways to help.” (source)

Bill Gates, CEO and founder of Microsoft

“If we make the right decisions now—informed by science, data and the experience of medical professionals—we can save lives and get the country back to work.” (source)

Tim Cook and Sundar Pinchai – CEOs of Apple and Google, respectively

“Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments, and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID‑19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.” (source)

Mark Cuban – Entrepreneur, owner of Dallas Mavericks

“The CEO is of no more importance than somebody cleaning the floors or that takes a bucket and mops the floors. I think that this is a time as a reset where we really have to reevaluate how we treat workers, how people are paid, how can we get them into a role where they receive an equity as part of their compensation. So that they’re not having to live paycheck to paycheck, they have something that appreciates. All these things I think are important as we go through this reset in business.” (source)

Sam King – CEO of VeraCode, a cybersecurity company

“I wish there was an easy solution to these issues but there isn’t. My ask is to do the best you can. I also recommend that you not fall into the temptation of having every waking hour be a work from home hour just because it can be.” (source)

Mark Zuckerberg – CEO of Facebook

“I’m very proud about how our teams around the world have pulled together to support people – getting accurate information, fighting misinformation, supporting small business and their recovery – making sure that important social and communication services that people rely on to keep in touch with the people they love, stay stable and running.” (source)

Mohammad Ali – CEO of International Data Group

“You’ve got 3,000 to 4,000 people at home and they need a community. We have been creating online communities that have nothing to do with how much you’re going to sell this week.” (source)

Michael Hansen – CEO of Cengage 

“The one thing I’ve personally learned is you’ve got to get ahead of the curve, don’t try to deny it or put your head in the sand, and wish for the best. These are the times when a culture and an organization gets tested.” (source)

Kelly Frederickson – CEO of MullenLowe

“Most consumers don’t mind hearing from brands as long as it is a solution,” where we are not trying to sell something, but we are trying to solve something.” (source)

Jennifer McNamara – CIO of Washington state’s Department of Health

“One thing I tell my teams is: ‘slow is smooth and smooth is fast’,” she says. “Speed is important, but if people are moving too rapidly, they can miss the big picture and end up solving the wrong problems.” (source)

Warren Buffet – CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

“There will be interruptions, and I don’t know when they will occur, and I don’t how deep they will occur, I do know they will occur from time to time, and I also know that we’ll come out better on the other end” (source)

Arvind Krishna – CEO of IBM

“When we look at the usage of AI and cloud, I think it is especially going to accelerate also not just us, but how our clients are going to go on their digital transformations. And I believe this crisis is only going to accelerate that as we go over the next few months.” (source)

Michael Dell – CEO of Dell

“We are all navigating this new normal together. As we lock arms virtually and try to help one another in the ways we can, our vast world suddenly feels a little smaller and a lot more connected. And for that, we are grateful.” (source)

Mike Krieger – Cofounder of Instagram

“In San Francisco alone, there are over 12,000 small businesses that employ more than 350,000 people. The coronavirus pandemic is threatening to permanently close many of these, leaving staff unemployed and owners at-risk. But one concrete, meaningful way that we can help is by purchasing gift cards. It’s a seemingly small gesture, but it means that the business gets income today to stay afloat through the crisis.” (source)

Bob Swan – CEO of Intel

“Today, we are witnessing what will surely be remembered as a historic deployment of remote work and digital access to services across every domain, including medicine, education, government, entertainment and more. In the coming weeks and months, services will be further digitized as the creativity of a massive work-from-home population gets rolling.” (source)

Tami Erwin – CEO of Verizon

“I don’t think we will ever go sit in a doctor’s waiting room when we’re sick again,” she said. “We will use telemedicine. The technology that’s available will change health care, will change education, will change a lot of things. And I think 5G is going to fuel that.” (source)

Brian Cornell – CEO of Target

“It’s safe to say that sitting here today, America is largely out of business, as many industries have idled capacity, as consumers are staying at home, working from home. Schools are closed, it’s a very unique environment that none of us have seen before, and there is no playbook for how to react in this environment. We’re writing the script each and every day” (source)

Kevin O’Leary – Entrepreneur and co-star of Shark Tank

“The key is to keep the DNA of the business intact so that when we come back out of this incredible, unique situation, we have all the building blocks we started with before to spring right back into business.” (source)

The post 18 Inspiring Quotes from Business Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Below are a few examples of some local businesses going above and beyond to help others. We hope you find them as inspiring as we did:

1. Denver company gives away free eggs for Easter

• Location: Denver, CO
• Source: KDVR / FOX 31
• Summary: Sarah Lair and her team at Five Eggs Meal Delivery have already been hard at work preparing and delivering full meals around the Denver area. After seeing a shortage of eggs at local grocery stores, she “hatched” the idea to give eggs away to families so that children will have eggs to dye and decorate for Easter.

2. Sacramento restaurant donates all of its March profits to help closed eateries

• Location: Sacramento, CA
• Source: GOOD DAY /  The CW 31
• Summary: Sacramento’s first vegan burger shop set up a relief fund using all their profits from the month of March to support other restaurants and eateries in the area who have had to shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. Local business supports healthcare workers

• Location: Winterville, NC
• Source: The East Carolinian
• Summary: Simple and Sentimental, a personalized gift business, has begun using their laser cutter technology to mass produce face shields and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for hospitals and medical facilities across the United States. They have set up a GoFundMe page to fund their efforts and have already raised over $5,800.

4. Vermont Glove retools to make masks

• Location: Randolph, VT
• Source: WCAX 3
• Summary: Vermont Glove, a 100 year old, family-run leather glove manufacturing business is switching gears and is now focusing on producing cotton face masks in response to the pandemic. Thousands of masks have already been sent all over the country for use by hospitals, law enforcement, and the general public.

5. Small businesses find ways to survive COVID-19 shutdowns

• Location: Camas, WA
• Source: The Camas-Washougal Post Record
• Summary: Small businesses in the town of Camas, WA are coming up with ways to support their community during these challenging times. Papermaker Pride, an apparel business that sells Camas-themed apparel launched a campaign to raise money for local programs and resources that support low-income families. Joe Orlando of the The Electric Panel, a local coworking space, is using his skills and technologies to create a “virtual triage center” for local business owners to virtually meet and discuss ways to identify ways to make it through the pandemic

6. Reno’s weekly kindness report: food for the soul

• Location: Reno, NV
• Source: Reno Gazette Journal
• Summary: Bishan Singh of India Kabab and Curry is serving 100 free meals from 12pm to 3pm each day to anyone in need of a hot meal during the pandemic.

7. Flemington business owner launches online apparel store to benefit local companies

• Location: Flemington, NJ
• Source: NJ.com
• Summary: Brandon Gano of Twisted Ink, a screen printing and embroidery company, recently launched Here for Good Central Jersey. Through his operation, local businesses can reach out and have him create t-shirts with their logo/branding on it for free. He then sells the shirts on the Here for Good Central Jersey and splits the profit with that business.

8. Sign Pro Imaging keeps spirits high with inspiring signs

• Location: Lima, OH
• Source: WLIO News
• Summary: Sign Pro Imaging Inc. created inspiring lawn signs for their local community to keep spirits up during these troubling times. All profits generated from purchases of the sign go towards the local food bank as well as towards purchasing Personal Protective Equipment for local medical personnel.

9. Philly-area organizations inspiring community spirit as COVID-19 cases rise

• Location: Philadelphia, PA
• Source: Philly Voice
• Summary: Matt Cahn, co-owner of Middle Child sandwich shop, took to social media to encourage his following to donate so that he could provide free meals to doctors and nurses helping the fight against the Coronavirus in nearby hospitals. So far he has raised over $15,000 in donations and has been able to keep his employees on and continue to provide meals to front line medical workers. You can donate to help Matt and Middle Child continue their efforts through Venmo by using this link or through the Venmo App to the username @middlechildphilly.

10. Downtown restaurant spreading hope with inspirational wall

• Location: Bakersfield, CA
• Source: 23 ABC
• Summary: Locale Farm to Table, a local restaurant in Bakersfield, CA,  started an inspirational sticky note wall in their restaurant to allow customers to provide messages of hope and support to others coming in to pick up their takeout orders.

11. Navarre Hair Studio re-opens for a day to cut hair for first responders

• Location: Navarre, FL
• Source: ABC 3 WEARTV
• Summary: After weeks of being closed due to pandemic restrictions, Chuck and Halsey Cruies of Cruies & Co. Hair Studio opened for one day to provide free haircuts for first responders in the surrounding area.

12. Tucson is clearly a town of innovators. Here are 5 inspiring local business pivots

• Location: Tucson, AZ
• Source: tucson.com
• Summary: Here are 5 local businesses in Tucson, AZ that are stepping up and aiding their community by providing art supplies for pickup, offering “surprise” book bundles, a local toy store switching to e-Commerce and providing free shipping, a produce business owner delivering fresh produce right to residents’ doors, and a local cinema allowing people to rent recently released movies.

13. Local business woman gives out free soap to those in need during Coronavirus pandemic

• Location: Indianapolis, IN
• Source: WTHR / NBC 13
• Summary: Victoria Thomas-Bodie, owner of The Pink Tub, make organic soaps and lotions and is now giving them out for free to help individuals in her local community stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.

We’re all coping with a lot right now. As a result, how small businesses connect with their community is more important now than it ever was. If you have an inspiring story you’d like to share, please contact us on Twitter or Facebook. We’d love to hear what your small business is doing to help the local community.

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