Small business

pacting their business. That’s a huge jump from the 16% that said so when the question was asked on March 10.

In all, 99% of small business owners show some level of concern — very (68%), somewhat (23%) or slightly (9%) — about the impact. On March 10, 37% of those that responded to the survey said they were only “slightly concerned” and 18% said they weren’t concerned at all.

The growing level of worry has led many small business owners to start thinking about finding help. They survey says that 23% have already spoken to a lender or otherwise researched available credit of lending resources. Another 30% said they haven’t done so yet, but are planning to.

In Pennsylvania

Gordon Denlinger, state director of NFIB in Pennsylvania, said the commonwealth more than reflects the result of the national survey.

“Pennsylvania potentially might be near the top of the affected states,” he said. “Our governor took strong and advanced actions.”

Denlinger said Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to order shut-downs of “nonlife-sustaining” businesses in the state place Pennsylvania ahead of the curve when it comes to coronavirus’ impact on businesses.

And while he said he can’t disagree with the governor’s decision and that health is always number one, Denlinger said that some of the businesses closed by the order created disruptions in the supply chain for those that remained open.

Thankfully, Denlinger said, a robust appeals process was put in place to help address some of those concerns.

Denlinger said small businesses will handle the challenges the crisis is creating differently. Depending on their sector, some will have more difficulty than others. And how the state and federal governments step in and offer help will do a lot to determine the fates of many businesses.

“I think impacts will be across the board, but some will have more difficulty than others,” Denlinger said. “It all depends on the strength of the balance sheet. Are there cash reserves or credit line in place to help weather the storm?

“It’s case by case, but a lot of small businesses, just like a lot of individuals, run very close to the edge financially,” he added. “For some number, this is going to be a situation from which they don’t recover. We hope that’s very few.”

Denlinger said he is amazed at how quickly the perception and reality of the coronavirus crisis have changed, marveling at differences between two surveys done only 10 days apart.

“It’s rather stunning to see the change in understanding of this issue within a very short period of time,” he said. “An amazing turnaround in understanding of this. And I think that is driving a lot of decisions at this point.”