Small business owners in Detroit have dealt with many harsh blows during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve shut their doors [some permanently] and optimistically re-opened, only to shutter again with the recent three-week statewide pause that began Wednesday.
A Nov. 18 virtual Michigan Chronicle event sponsored by HAP, “RECOVER. RESPOND. THRIVE! How to Re-Imagine your Business and Emerge from the Crisis Stronger,” discussed how business owners can flourish through a crisis with the correct tools.
The one-hour panel discussion introduced topics ranging from assisting business owners with developing critical priorities to help their business; retooling their workforce; developing a healthy work environment and minimizing issues, and more.
The event was moderated by Nicole Sherard-Freeman, executive director, workforce development, City of Detroit, who said the last several months have taught businesses how to find available resources with assistance.
“We know that we need navigators in this space,” she said. “It is absolutely impossible as a business owner to understand the full array of opportunities and resources without some help,” she said.
Panelists were:
- Margaret Anderson, senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer, HAP
- Pierre Batton, vice president of Small Business Services at Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
- Alexis Dishman, chief lending officer for Michigan Women Forward
- John Simpson, proprietor, Savannah Blue
- Sanya Weston, founder of Your Premiere Travel Services
Sherard-Freeman kicked off the discussion by asking the panelists what they are most excited and concerned about with their businesses as they forge ahead during COVID-19. Anderson said that from the healthcare and health system perspective, some of the challenges ahead is the recent COVID-19 resurgence that is presently visible in the healthcare system, but she is also excited about the virtual offerings now available through telehealth appointments.
“I do have hope and excitement on what we’ve been able to do … in this virtual world to be sure [the community and business owners] still have access to quality of care in our region,” she said.
Simpson, a business lawyer, and business owner said that as a small business owner what keeps him up at night are some levels of uncertainty.
“We are not going to be open for dining service today [Nov. 17],” Simpson said, adding that the restaurant is one of his core businesses. “We are resilient; we are a resilient people and we will get through this. .. All my clients and employees [are] adversely affected by this COVID nightmare and the new restrictions put on us.”
Weston said that the travel service has been around for over 50 years and when COVID-19 hit the travel industry hard, she had to build the “confidence” of her customers and their product in the meantime.
“We were the first industry that got knocked on the door with COVID-19,” she said, adding that she replaced the word “sell” with the word “communicate” with her customers and had conversations with them about her business while building her customer base up. Weston also said that the first thing she did for her business at the start of the pandemic was “convince” herself that people wanted to travel, and that helped her a lot, along with becoming the face of her business.
“It was … time for me to be the face [to] let our clients know what we are going through and how we’re going to get through it,” Weston said. “I found a way to pivot my business without changing the product.”
She said by doing something else profitable by helping people with canceled travel plans, and the like, her business is still succeeding.
Batton said that he is the “middle man” in this space at Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, DEGC, where he received feedback from small business owners who are figuring out what they need to make it through the pandemic.
Simpson said that he prayed early on and began to change his perspective on his business that employed 30 young people [which he describes as his children] who he had to “muster up the courage” to inform them that they would have a job the next day.
Simpson added that in March he had to help his employees navigate the crucial next steps to find unemployment resources and other tools to survive many months without working.
“That meant going back and looking up unemployment issues and resources available to them,” he said adding that his young employees did not always have the correct paperwork readily available so that was a learning curve, too.
The time also gave Simpson a chance to regroup and streamline inefficiencies in the business and introduce more safety measures for a better dining experience like outdoor seating and curbside pickup.
“We did research and took the time so … we opened back up healthier than when we started before,” he said.
Dishman said when it comes to funding, find the capital available [via a loan or grant] to keep business going; also consider pitch competitions with more coming online.
Batton said that there has been a lot of confusion when it comes to knowing when funding is available at times because what’s available today is not always here tomorrow. He also encourages businesses to check out DEGC’s detroitmeansbusiness.org website to find grant funding. He added that certain businesses can apply for a $5,000 grant [applications close Nov. 20], and that opportunity is one of many found at Detroit Means Business and it is important to “identify the capital resources out there available to you as a small business owner.”
Dishman added that small business owners should use their contacts, resources, and relationships during good times and reach out to them during challenging times for help. Also, understand your cash flow so if it comes time to ask for grace or dollars, the request makes sense.
“Financial institutions what to know how they are going to … have it repaid and get it in the market and recirculated,” she said. “You need to as a business owner really try to understand your cash flow [what’s coming in and what’s going out] and articulate your story and why it makes sense for someone to invest in you — whether that is a grant or loan.”
She also said that while “she’s kept up at night” because of the way that businesses have operated is now “compromised” because of the pandemic, she’s still hopeful.
“I’m enthusiastic about the innovation I have seen in partners and entrepreneurs trying to figure out how to survive in the state they are in,” Dishman said, adding that businesses can still put themselves in a better position going forward.
Find out more information at https://www.hap.org/, https://detroitmeansbusiness.org/financial-resources/, and https://www.degc.org/.
Click below to watch the replay. 
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