KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Small businesses in the Kansas City metro area are dealing with challenging times.
Woodyard Bar-B-Que in Kansas City, Kansas was on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks to some financial relief, the owner told 41 Action News he'll be keeping the doors open.
“Essentially I was making enough to pay the employees and maybe a couple small vendors but I couldn’t have kept this up for much longer," owner Ciaran Molloy said.
Molloy applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Within a few days, Molloy said he received his loan.
“For me, I thought it was very easy; I did have to do it three times because the federal government kept tweaking it just slightly," Molloy said.
For other small businesses, the process wasn't as easy. Brian Goodson of Hometech Handyman Services told 41 Action News his application was submitted weeks ago and is still waiting for an update.
“If you call the SBA, it goes to an automated line that tells you if you have this problem, send it to this email address, if you have this question, send it to this email address," Goodson said.
Goodson said he had to go through the process four times and was asked to provide more information. Once he sent the information needed, Goodson said he never heard anything back.
At home, Goodson has a wife and six children to feed. His remodeling business, which is not deemed essential, is the only income he has.
“Not getting the assistance, it feels like I let my family down," Goodson said.
This week, the federal government announced it's no longer accepting applications for relief. Fourteen days after small businesses began to apply, the Small Business Administration announced the $349 billion had run out.
“When you hear about people who are just like me that seem to have done it at the same timeline as I did, not getting money, not getting approved now, really gives you pause for thought and you know, hopefully they will get it, I’m sure they will, but you feel kind of bad like I got it and they didn’t," Molloy said.
President Donald Trump is asking congress to increase funding for the program, meaning a second wave of funding could soon be on the way.
