In the Roae bill passed in the state house on Tuesday I am
wondering what the impact will be on those that own a business and open up and
find that their business is not what they hoped or expected. What will happen
to the eligibility for the equivalent to unemployment or other stimulus funds others
will continue to get being closed. I am aware that many of those funds have not
been a reality still for many of my business friends. Maybe it would be good to
look at a couple of examples I have been thinking about.
I have a friend who owns a golf course and can’t wait to be open
and I have to say their course looks magnificent. Makes me want to dust off the
clubs and start playing again. Part of that is I too am tired of being cooped
up in the house for the most part. They have applied for the stimulus funds
from the different bills that have been passed by the federal government. Part
of their frustration is that they must maintain and therefor pay for the ongoing
costs of keeping the course up. Under the Roae bill he decided it will be great
and he opens his course with special limitations. Tee times must be reserved
and will be 15 minutes apart so there is no social distancing problems. Only
immediate family members from the same house are permitted to share a cart. At
no time should golfers be less than 5 feet from one another. He has invested in
special flags and cups so that they do not need to be touched when you finish a
hole. He has also installed hand sanitizers at each tee as an added precaution.
When a round it completed, he has a staff member that is dressed in PPE and
takes the cart to the shed to be cleaned and sanitized before the next player uses
it. The snack shop will remain closed, but a small stand is available for limited
snacks like chips and drinks.
The first thing he discovers is that when he calls the 12
leagues that had planned to play there this spring only two are willing to play
because the members are not ready to venture out yet. Several indicate they
will still come out and play even though the league isn’t running. Those leagues
usually mean he can count on 250 weekly rounds plus carts. The number of non-league
rounds is only about 60% of normal because of the spread out tee times and many
of the old timers are not venturing out because of health concerns. Some are
not coming because of their concern but in talking with many of them he find
that their families are really worried about them being out. Two weeks after
opening he discovers that other courses are not getting the play they expected
and have begun discounting play.
What will be the financial impact of the bills as passed to
the golf course?
Another friend owns a photography studio, and this is
normally the crazy part of her year. She is normally packed every day and
several evenings with senior photo sessions, engagement photos and family
events. She had 9 out of 10 weekends this spring booked with weddings including
two weekends with two. Several of those wedding had large bridal parties that
usually mean extra photographs in the order. Of the eleven weddings only 3 have
not been postponed and now those probably will not have a traditional reception.
While they have offered special package deals because many are out of work she
is only doing about 20% of her normal business.
What will be the financial impact of the bills as passed to
the photography studio?
Another friend owns a small bookstore with a coffee and
donut counter that people usually come and browse and sit while having coffee,
often with a friend. They rearrange the store a bit to make tables further apart
but there is the limit to the number of people that can be in the store at any
one time. They make the difficult decision not to open the counter to anything
but to go coffee and donuts. Now they have a few people that are regular long-term
customers that come in to chat, read the paper and buy one or two books a week.
They are finding that their sales are minimal and the restrictions on the
number in the store mean that the regulars mostly are not coming.
What will be the financial impact of the bills as passed to
the bookstore?
When I was teaching business at the college level one of the
courses, I taught was a small business seminar with the need to develop a business
plan. As I have been chatting with some of my business friends, they have
concerns about how long it will be before people come back even if they throw
the doors wide open. I think making sure you have thought out the possible
impacts will be more important today then ever before. I do not know one business
owner that is excited about government funding their business and want to be
back at work. Then they must worry about employees as well. Who can answer the
questions about how to plan for recovery?
Lastly, how soon will we be at the point that they say the
business is open and you are now fully on your own? Was that defined in any of
the legislation passed at the federal or state level? We all know we have to
get to that point because we are creating historic deficits right now that will
take generations to recover from.
If you know me, you know I like to be able to be part of a
solution to a problem I see and one of the best ways to help is to become educated.
That is the reason I am asking you to think about these kinds of scenarios and
how we can minimize the impact while supporting and getting people back to
work. I have always believed that learning to ask the right questions and helping
people think the answer through is one of the most effective ways of finding
workable solutions.
What are your ideas on how to get us back on track?
FYI While the above business scenarios are based on real business conversations I have been a part of they are composites created for discussion and not describing one business I know.
