New PPP Guidance & 4 More Small Business News Stories You Need To Know

After a break over the holidays, we’re back for another week of Merchant Maverick’s essential news roundup for small business owners.

While the US was rocked this week by tumultuous scenes in Washington DC, news from the business world was a bit more subdued. However, there are still a few key stories for small businesses to discuss this week. Read on through for this week’s top five must-know stories for small business owners:

The PPP Picture Becomes Clearer

Late Wednesday night, the SBA and the US Treasury issued new guidance for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that was reborn under the new stimulus package.

Most notably, community lenders that serve minority and women-owned business will have exclusive access to an allotment of PPP funds for at least two days once the next round of money becomes available. Additionally, the SBA said that businesses should calculate their 25% revenue loss (a threshold that must be hit in order to qualify for a second PPP loan) using gross receipts. Applicants must have also used the full amount of their first PPP loan on or before the expected date of their second PPP loan.

While the guidance totaled 82- and 42-page documents, the SBA didn’t announce when the next round of the PPP will start. (Edit January 8: The SBA just announced that the PPP will reopen on Monday, January 11.)

As a whole, the stimulus package provides a number of benefits to businesses. Among additional benefits include tax breaks for businesses that help with student loans — through 2025, companies can be exempt from paying taxes on up $5,250 per year for each employee they help with education expenses. Elsewhere, the new legislation forgives up to eight months of principal and interest payments for loans through the SBA’s Section 7(a) and Microloans programs.

Further reading: PPP Round Two: New PPP Loan Rules & Requirements We Know So Far, Merchant Maverick

Small Businesses Lost 13,000 Jobs In December

The latest national employment report from the Automatic Data Processing (ADP)’s Research Institute painted a sobering picture for small businesses: 13,000 jobs were lost to small businesses across the US in December. The hit to small business employment was part of an overall decrease of 123,000 jobs nationally.

Businesses with between one and 19 employees were particularly affected — the ADP says such businesses lost 16,000 jobs in December. Slightly larger small businesses (between 20 and 49 employees) fared a bit better by picking up 3,000 additional jobs in last month. And mid-sized businesses (which the ADP defines as between 50 and 499 employees) added 37,000 jobs.

Further reading: For Small Firms, Covid-19 Cuts Deeper; ‘It’s Getting Worse Every Day’, The Wall Street Journal

Minimum Wage Rises In 20 States, 32 Municipalities

As 2021 begins, 20 states and 32 municipalities have risen their minimum wage threshold per to a study by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a worker advocacy group. Roughly half of those localities are hitting the $15 threshold.

Another four states and 18 municipalities will raise minimum wage sometime later in 2021. NELP says that the grand total of 74 municipalities raising minimum wage is a record.

Further reading: Daily chart: Nearly half of America’s states are increasing their minimum wage in 2021, The Economist

Small Business Owners Take A Positive Outlook Into 2021

While small businesses may have lost jobs as a whole in December, their owners are mostly remaining positive as we get 2021 rolling. That’s according to the latest annual JPMorgan Chase Business Leaders Outlook survey at least.

The survey, which polled more than 2,100 business leaders across the US, found that 63% of small business owners remain optimistic about their own company. However, the pandemic has still delivered a crushing blow — only 47% of small business owners are anticipating revenue and sales growth in 2021, a number down from 60% in last year’s survey.

Some Restaurant Workers Are Set To Be Vaccinated

Washington DC appears to become one of the first cities to begin vaccinating restaurant workers after the city’s mayor Muriel Bowser made an announcement earlier this week. Based on the mayor’s press conference, vaccinations for restaurant workers in Washington DC will have a target start date of February 1. New York City also has plans to vaccinate “all other essential workers” (which the CDC lists as including restaurant workers) but no start date is in place.

The latest announcement from Washington DC comes after the CDC put restaurant employees into the essential worker bracket last month.

The Latest From Merchant Maverick

Besides kick-starting the PPP program, the new stimulus package is also giving fresh life to a helpful government grant program. Learn how Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants can help your business with our article:

• What The Stimulus Package Says About The New EIDL Grants Coming In 2021

Something Good…

In Texas, a free grocery store opened its doors this past November. This store offers canned goods, produce, laundry detergent, soap, and other products free of charge to students and faculty members of the local school district in the small town of Sanger, which is located about 50 miles north of Dallas. According to NBC News’ story on the store, about 43% of all students in Sanger are economically disadvantaged.

“If we can make our food pantries look like a grocery store” and give people a card to shop with as they would at any other place, the store’s director Paul Juarez told NBC News, then “we can keep dignity in people.”