Alignable’s Small Business Pulse Poll Tracks Current Health Of Local Economies
No. 1 Small Business Referral Network Surveys 52,000+ Members About The Coronavirus Threat, Finds 80% Are Already Negatively Impacted
BOSTON, MA: March 17, 2020 – While everyone on the planet is trying to avoid the coronavirus, there’s nowhere to hide when you’re a small business owner.
That’s why Alignable.com, the largest referral network for small businesses with 4.5 million+ members, has created a very practical way to track the rise and fall of the coronavirus threat against small businesses: an ongoing survey among thousands of small business owners across the U.S. and Canada. We’ve heard from small businesspeople in hundreds of industries ranging from travel/transportation, medicine/wellness, massage therapy, and marketing, to pet care, music, photography, event planning and more.
Polling started last week and received an unparalleled response -- 52,000+ concerned businesspeople have weighed in so far. The poll asked: “What impact are you currently experiencing?” The answers small business owners could choose were: “it's not impacting my business,” “it’s starting to impact my business,” “it's really impacting my business,” “the impact is on the decline,” and “the impact is over.”
“The most alarming part of this first survey was that in just four days, the percentage of small business owners negatively impacted by the coronavirus jumped from 60% to 80%,” said Eric Groves, Co-Founder and CEO of Alignable. “At this point, the fear around this virus and its effect on small businesses seems to be growing every few days, which is why we decided to track the health of these entrepreneurial companies on an ongoing basis throughout the crisis and the eventual recovery.”
Reviewing regional survey results, the Northeast wins the dubious distinction of struggling the most under the threat of the coronavirus. Some 72% of respondents there said they were impacted, followed closely by the West Coast (69%). Meanwhile, 66% of Canadians said they were affected.
It’s no surprise to see that the state with the highest percentage of impacted small businesses is Washington, which reflects the early virus outbreaks in the Seattle area. As many as 77% of all businesses in Washington State reported feeling the negative effects of the virus.
New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts were next in line with 74% of local small business owners citing negative impacts. New Jersey (73%) and California (71%) rounded out the top six states reporting coronavirus-related economic declines.
“The statistics out of this poll were certainly sobering and reflected the widespread panic around the threat of this virus,” said Venkat Krishnamurthy, Alignable’s President and Co-Founder. “However, many of the more than 3,000 comments that followed this poll showed the kind of resilience, hope, heart, and even humor that will help small businesspeople to emerge even stronger once this very uncomfortable part of history is behind us.”
Here are just a few quotes that reflected both the struggles and some uplifting perspectives from small business owners:
“As you can imagine, being in the travel and tourism business, we are in the crosshairs right now, and it's very difficult to keep up with the insanity that has developed from the fear of this outbreak,” said David Decker of Humani Tours & Travel. “The fear is the real pandemic, and it has already infected all of us -- so much, that companies have NO CHOICE but to react, or else look irresponsible. This will pass -- in fact, past patterns show that it will be gone by the late spring, but people are preparing like they would be for nuclear war right now. I pray that everyone can take a few minutes to think rationally, have a plan for how to behave to avoid the NORMAL flu and cold viruses that are a lot more prevalent out there, and just take care of their family. But, if you have a vacation planned for the summertime, don't panic -- you're going to be fine. This is not the Black Plague. Cheers, David”
And from Curtis Mattingly of 20/20 Chip Repair LLC: “All I can say is keep your chin up and try not to get into the panic mode. Get out and shop local and use local services. I don’t want to see the local small businesses closing down as feared, as this will be the ultimate scar from this nasty virus on this great community!”
Stay tuned for our next poll update, so you can track the latest regarding the coronavirus threat to small businesses and how many of these entrepreneurs are trying to combat it.
For any questions, media inquiries or interview requests, please contact Chuck Casto via email or text at chuck@alignable.com or 508-314-3284.
#SmallBusinessStrong
Comments (11-20)
Thinking of car repairs?? Give me a call/text.
Thanks for helping to get awareness out about small businesses.
I fell in late November and have been unable to work since. I tore my rotator cuff, damaged the nerves in both legs causing my toes to be numb and crushed my tailbone which the doctor said will take 6 months or more to heal and I am required to use a walker. My business is essentially dead and no funds coming in except social security which doesn't even pay my rent. The median age of appraisers is 65, I am just slightly past that and could do review appraisals, desktop or drive by exterior valuations but havent had an orders from my clients since I fell.
Been busy assisting clients help their employees during this difficult time. Lots to consider regarding telecommuting, employment laws, OSHA, etc. Providing advice for income loss. This looks worse than 2008 (was helping businesses then too). Suggestion, apply for loans now, look into UI for any employees, and of course let's all support each other when we can!
Interest rates are very low right now, which is a great time for you to refinance you business buildings or your homes. Then reinvest the savings in your business restructuring. In this time period, as we later look back and reflect, will show a pivot in the entire world that will shift into the AI or Artificial Intelligence time period. Let me explain why. A large % of the working population is near or at retirement, in the next 13 years as it peaks 60% of the working population will be retired. As this virus has shown the US, we need our own resources and supplies here in the US. The demand to recover many different manufacturing companies will have one problem, staffing. So this is where AI will come in. Machines will be developed to handle tasks that a human use to. Another pivot will be a more Virtual Reality, more remote jobs, more online businesses and so on. So right now, your question should be, how can I capitalize on this? Can my business provide any virtual aspect? Can i create or develop a technology that will be useful? This is a time for reflection on the possibilities of what is to come. If you business is not setup for any AI or Virtual movement, no fears, there are still plenty of people to hold your positions that will be needed, however, you should prepare for changes that will be forced on to the business world we live in. Please remember that the consumer will accept or reject any form of change so 2 plans are always better than one to survive.
Very informative. Thanks!
I have been lucky so far thankfully, as most of my painting projects have been in unoccupied homes. Unfortunately some of my business associates have not faired so well. Cancellations of existing contracts due to the uncertainty of the economic impact of the pandemic have forced them to layoff some of their workers. Wealthy customers have decided to hold on to their money until the markets return to their normal track. It definitely is trickledown economic drag.
Im in the fitness industry. 2 gyms in Delaware and 1 in Maryland. Obviously with the mandatory closures in both states now, the revenue has effectively been dropped by 50% at this point and its been a week. I'm praying that my SBA applications are accepted because if not, Bankruptcy here I come.
With wineries closed and clients cancelling tours, my business has zero income. I definitely need assistance. I’m calm for now.
I applied for both EIDL and PPP. Both have run out of funds before my applications were reviewed. I sent them in 10 days ago.