LAWTON, Okla. – At the beginning of 2020 millions of small business owners were stunned when forced to temporarily close because of COVID-19, nor could they have imagined that their entrances would become permanently padlocked 10 months later.
For the still-struggling survivors there is help via thousands of grants available for small businesses and nonprofits, yet many of these business breaks will expire at the end of the year.
Why should small businesses and nonprofits apply for grants? Because large companies, philanthropic organizations and government agencies set aside these funds for a variety of reasons and if the money is not awarded, there is no guarantee the funds will be reestablished. This is free money that can be used for capital funding, staff training, equipment improvement, businesses development and restorations, and much of it will be gone come January.
As a small business owner, I’ve had to adapt and get creative to keep my little boat afloat. It’s safe to say that, as recently as April, we all had a “sitting duck” mentality waiting for the virus to directly impact us but, as a CEO, finding a short-term solution was imperative.
