Small business loans are now available. Here’s what you need to know.

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The federal government opened up the first round of applications for the $350 billion worth of small business loans last Friday, April 3. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has stretched the Small Business Administration, which is in charge of the program, beyond its limits. The agency typically backs $30 billion of loans a year, but JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have already collectively received $60 billion worth of loan applications.

Thousands of businesses have succeeded in turning in applications to their lenders but many are still waiting to hear if they’ve been approved.

While business owners have struggled to get access to the funds, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced in a tweet today that the government is preparing to make a further $250 billion available to meet the high demand for the loans. 

Given the speed at which the PPP was rolled out, there’s been a lot of confusion about who is eligible for the loans and how businesses can qualify. To help business owners get the answers they need, I went on our LinkedIn Editors’ daily show Business Unusual to answer questions and talk through the details with Mike Malloy, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University who has put together a guide walking businesses through what they need to know about the PPP program and the SBA disaster loans. Due to high demand, I’ll be doing another show answering questions live on Monday, April 13. 

What questions do you have about these loan programs?

Latest Developments

• As always, see here for the latest information and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
• The CDC is recommending Americans now wear masks in public after it was found that up to 25% of coronavirus patients will be asymptomatic. However, due to a mask shortage, they’re asking people to make their own out of cloth.
• In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he expects the pandemic to inflict “a bad recession.”
• Some auto insurers, including Allstate and American Family Mutual Insurance, are giving money back to policyholders.
• Funds from the $2 trillion stimulus package will go toward paying hospitals that treat uninsured coronavirus patients so long as they don’t bill the patients or have unexpected charges.
• Requests to delay mortgage payments increased almost 2,000% between March 16 and March 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Conversations For You

• Beauty professionals are sharing how they are adapting to the mandatory closures by launching online tutorials or virtual consultations and discussing what impact moving their services online could have on the business when physical stores reopen.
• Owners describe their experiences trying to apply for the Payment Protection Program  loans that opened for small businesses and sole proprietors on April 3.
• Wedding postponements are devastating for the betrothed but are also upending an entire industry built around them, including wedding planners, caterers, DJs and florists. What does this pandemic mean for them and the industry at large? Find out here.
• Restaurants in the United States and Canada are allowed to put together orders for delivery or takeout but that is not as easy as it sounds. Already, hundreds of thousands of workers in the industry in both countries have been laid off. Those that are still operating detail how they’ve been able to change their business model and shift to a delivery-only business.

Resources

• Goldman Sachs started a $500 million fund to give to small businesses, which will be given out in emergency loans and as grants to “mission-driven lenders.”
• Spanx founder Sara Blakely is giving out $5 million to 1,000 female entrepreneurs. Click here to apply.
• Barbara Corcoran, renowned investor on Shark Tank, has put together a small business survival guide with her tips for owners.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a newsletter with specifics about the SBA loan programs.
• Harvard Business Review has a guide for what to do if an employee tests positive for coronavirus.
• Google updated its maps to allow users to discover restaurants that are still providing takeout or delivery.
• This isn’t small business related, but I suspect we could all use a bit of cheering up. Actor John Krasinski has started a weekly YouTube show aggregating good news from around the world.

Until next time. Stay safe and be well.