OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — From barely surviving to closing their doors, the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on small businesses continues to wreak havoc in the Kansas City metro economy.
To help alleviate the stress of figuring out where to turn for financial assistance or advice during the pandemic, the Kansas Small Business Development Center at the Johnson County Community College recently launched its website.
Jessica Johnson, director of the Kansas SBDC at JCCC, said in a news release the site will provide "pertinent educational articles" and blogs to assist businesses.
It provides information ranging from receiving a loan to advice for staying in business during a pandemic. And it's a tool small business owners said will help a lot of shops in Johnson County.
"We’re not a big corporation," Dav McNary, owner of McNary's Furniture, said. "We don’t have people that can handle all that for us, so having a website I think would be a big deal."
Todd Johns, founder and chief pitmaster at Plowboys Barbecue, agreed.
"We often have a lot of questions," Johns said, "and anyplace we can go to get our questions answered in a way we understand and that can be efficient for us is very important."
Johns has firsthand experience with similar resources, as he applied twice for the Paycheck Protection Program loans.
"PPP loans helped us about quite a bit," he said. "I don’t think we’d be here without it."
Plowboys' business dropped by half over the past year, according to Johns.
"We’ve had to make some tough decisions to keep on going," Johns said.
Other shops are holding up well, but McNary said the uncertainty during the pandemic has been the worst part.
"It was just like, 'Are we going to be here next month?' you know? You have all these things going through your mind," McNary said.
The website's content, according to the development center, is "driven by customer feedback and the SBDC’s [Small Business Development Center's] commitment to delivering the latest information, including small business resources regarding COVID-19 relief."
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