Applying for an SBA Disaster Relief Loan — What You Need To Know
Everyone has been affected by what’s been happening over the last couple weeks. School owners are having to radically transform their businesses and are wondering if they are going to be able to make it through the Coronavirus pandemic with their business intact. People are worried not only about themselves but also about their employees who rely on them.
To fight back against the fear, we wanted to provide our customers in the United States with some positive news that could provide some relief for your small business.
We saw an excellent email from MAIA that we wanted to share with you:
“On March 17th, the federal government revised the criteria for the availability of disaster relief loans available through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Under the new criteria, loans are available statewide following an economic injury declaration, whereas previously, funds were only available on a county-by-county basis.
SBA Disaster-Relief loans are low-interest working capital loans designed to help small businesses in disaster-affected areas to meet their financial obligations such as payroll, fixed debts, accounts payable, etc.
Important things to know:
- They offer up to $2 million in assistance
- Interest rate of 3.75%
- Repayment term is determined on a case-by-case basis based on each borrower’s ability to repay (with a maximum term of 30 years).
The first thing you’ll want to do is to find out if your state is eligible by clicking this link: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Declarations
If your school is located in an eligible state, you can download the necessary forms online at the SBA website. They then allow you to upload those forms directly rather than mailing in: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/
I’ve got the forms. Now What?
There are a lot of forms to fill out, and it’s going to appear quite daunting. There are some additional resources available for assistance, though.
The SBA has dedicated help available for this process:
- 1-800-659-2955
- disastercustomerservice@sba.gov
In addition to the SBA, each state has its own Small Business Development Center (SBDC) that will be able to help businesses in that state with navigating the SBA disaster loan program.
You can enter your zip code into the search box on the site linked below, and that’ll give you the contact info for the closest branch: https://americassbdc.org/small-business-consulting-and-training/find-your-sbdc/
When you navigate to the website for your branch, you’ll be able to register for counseling. We surveyed a few of the sites, and in most cases there’s a register, sign up for assistance, register for counseling or some similarly titled button on the home page. But in some cases, that link is deeper on the site and can usually be found fairly easily.
If you’re having difficulty registering, you can call the main number for the SBDC in your area, and they’ll be very happy to help get you the correct information. The sole purpose for the existence of the SBDC is to help small businesses in a large number of capacities, including helping them to apply for assistance such as this.”
More Information Coming
This Friday, April 3rd at 1PM EST at Facebook.com/2020armor we are hosting a live seminar with Elva Pai Adams ,VP of small business lending for Jefferson Bank in San Antonio TX, who will be discussing how to navigate the SBA Disaster Grants and Loans for martial arts schools. She is a noted financial expert and can provide tips to help you get through this difficult time.
Master Elva Pai Adams is not only a former VP at Wells Fargo, she is an incredibly accomplished martial artist with three decades of experience. She was an Olympic athlete in Taekwondo, and she was selected as the first female international referee representing the USA for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Bring your questions for the Q and A afterwards. We will post the live stream on the site after it is over, along with all the most important bullet points from the talk.
Learn About Paycheck Protection Program
The US government is offer a second system for small businesses to get loans due to business uncertainty around Coronavirus. Only this loan is forgivable if you spend it on 4 specific types of business expenses. Learn more by reading our in depth on it coverage here.
For Right Now: Leveling Up Your Students Training
We are offering a great deal for students who want to train at home during this difficult time. With our video scoring chest guards we give students the measurement they need to track their progress and stay dedicated to their martial arts training. These at home training kits give school owners the data they need to push students to do their best and get the most out of their virtual learning classes. Learn more at our Training At Home page.
Thinking of the Future
You have done incredible things over the last two weeks to save your business. You’ve learned how to make great video content that engages your students and you’ve gathered the tools you need to survive. But how do you get out of survival mode and start planning to make the most out of the next six months to a year and come back better than ever?
Preparing for Success When Your School Reopens
When your schools re-opens you are going to need to focus on ways you can Attract more students, Retain the ones you have and Thrive by creating new revenue streams to make up your losses. We got you covered.
Want to know how you can Attract 5x your normal amount of leads at recruiting events? Read about how Master Wong got 50 leads in just a couple hours and earned 30K in new revenue.
Want to dramatically increase your Retention? Learn how Mr. Jonathan Frank got 100% retention of his teen students and won 71 ATA District Championships by training with 20/20 Armor.
Students are going to be hungry for competition when you re-open your dojang. You can run your in house events with 80% less staff, eliminate technical delays and offer a fair judging system that will keep your students and their parents ready to participate in your next event. Learn how Master Helgi ran his best ever tournament with 20/20 Armor.
For more resources to help your school navigate these difficult times go to our Rebuilding From Coronavirus page. We’re here for you and we will get through this together. This too shall pass.
