Thank you, Rhett, for your incredible energy – always launching these sessions the right way. It is great to be joining you all today to kick off the SBA’s Getting Back on Track: Help is Here webinar series. And thank you to the team at Public-Private Strategies Institute for helping us put these webinars together, and for continuing to join us at the forefront of efforts to lift our nation's small businesses.
I’d also like to acknowledge our wonderful Region Four acting Regional Administrator, Janita Stewart, who also oversees our Mississippi District Office. Janita and the Region 4 team are working so hard to help our small businesses in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina – and I hope everyone who is listening here today will reach out to Janita and her team for their invaluable insights, and to access the SBA’s vast array of services. They are here to help you find the resources that are right for you.
One of my favorite PPP success stories came from Janita’s district where a local successful restauranteur talked about how he thought he would be forced to close during COVID, but then he received a from Janita assuring him the SBA was here to help. She gave him hope and kept him connected to take advantage of PPP.
So, if you haven’t yet, reach out to our district offices – we’re here to support you and be a part of your team. Thank you Janita for representing the SBA so well!
It seems impossible to believe that one day soon we’ll be able to get together in person. But, we are moving on to brighter days here in America.
Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to make it easy to get vaccinated, we celebrated a “landmark day” yesterday when we hit the 60 percent mark, in terms of adults who have received one shot. And, what’s even more exciting is that 51 percent of those who’ve been vaccinated in the past two weeks have been people of color, which the White House COVID response team has called an encouraging national trend.
We’re making progress. Our marketplaces and main streets are beginning to return to normal -- and that’s what we need so you can do all do what you do best – deliver great products and services and create jobs. And remember that you can do your part by taking advantage of the American Rescue Plan’s tax credit that ensures you won’t lose out if give your employees paid leave to get vaccinated and recover.
And while the best thing we can do for all our nation’s small businesses is help our nation return to normal, we’ve also got to help you survive until normal arrives.
Thanks to the leadership of President Biden and our champions in Congress, billions of dollars in targeted relief for our small businesses and startups has been allocated through the American Rescue Plan.
At the SBA, we’re focused on getting this relief to those who need our help the most – especially our smallest and minority-owned businesses who have faced historic barriers limiting their growth, and who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
We’re doing that by pivoting and adapting to meet our customers where they are. Putting ourselves in the shoes of our customers. Incorporating technology just as our small businesses have been doing during COVID. Simplifying processes to better serve businesses in these demanding times and increasing authentic connections. We are committed to being as entrepreneurial as the small businesses we serve.
And I’m proud to say that it’s working.
We successfully launched the $28.6 billion dollar Restaurant Revitalization Fund in just over a month after the American Rescue Plan was signed – designing an application process that was intuitive … it takes 25 mins on average … simple with technical support.
And, we launched the program with partners like point of sale vendors, so that you can access the application where you’re already doing business … which is part of our effort to meet businesses where they are.
In the first two weeks -- after receiving more than 303,000 applications -- we've been able to get nearly $6 billion dollars of relief into the hands of more than 38,000 food and beverage businesses owned by women, veterans, and people of color, who were given priority access to the program as mandated by Congress.
In addition, we’ve been reaching our smallest businesses with this program –with 9.5 billion in set asides for smaller food and beverage businesses –including $500mm for businesses with revenues $50,000 and under. The good news is that we still have funding left in this smallest of the small category so be sure to apply before the application portal closes on Monday.
We’ve been hearing from food entrepreneurs across the country that this program has been life-changing for them.
Let me share Cindy Edward’s story. After spending many years working toward their dream, Cindy and her husband were about to open their restaurant – Chasing Sage – in Charleston, South Carolina when the pandemic hit.
Like many restaurants, they quickly pivoted to takeout but it barely helped them keep the doors open. And because they weren’t technically yet in business, they didn’t qualify for many of the relief programs. By March 2021, they were ready to call it quits. When they heard about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, they quickly applied – and had the money in their hands in a week.
Now, Cindy says that she feels like she can breathe for the first time in a year. She's rehiring staff – and is getting ready to relaunch Chasing Sage, which she’d always imagined as a place that feels like home to her customers.
The success we've seen with this program is just the beginning.
Together with my mission-drive team, I plan to implement a customer-first approach across all SBA programs and services, while focusing on equity – to bridge the gaps that exist to support ALL of our entrepreneurs.
These webinars will walk you through many of the programs and services the SBA has to offer – whether you’re a restauranter like Cindy, or a technology wizard looking to launch the next big idea.
Today, you’ll get excellent advice and information from my Associate Administrator Patrick Kelley, who leads our Office of Capital Access.
The SBA is here to help you recover and rebuild from this pandemic – and thrive into the future. We want to connect you to the funding, the markets for revenue growth and the networks to support you. Because the truth is that you are giants in our economy, and we need you to create jobs, build wealth and sustain our communities.
So, explore SBA.gov today and let us help you get back on track and continue pursuing your dreams!
Enjoy the webinar!
Rhett – take it away.